


Two Million Grains of Sand

by ladyvenoms



Category: Nagron - Fandom, Spartacus Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bondage and Discipline, F/M, M/M, Mild S&M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-20
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-01-09 09:42:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1144470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyvenoms/pseuds/ladyvenoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spartacus contracts his two best hitmen, A & N to track down a runaway bodyguard and some missing millions. No one can be trusted, anyone can be killed and everyone has sex.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back again with something slightly new and naughty. I had always wanted to so a story with Quintus and Lucretia so here it is! 
> 
> In case you didn't know, A&N stand for Agron and Nasir.

Chapter One

The bar was nearly empty which was surprising on such a hot, dry afternoon. Sand whipped against flesh, stone and wood at every turn. There seemed to be no relief from the oppressive heat or the harsh wind. Humans literally dragged themselves down the sidewalks. Animals panted and lay in the shade. Australia was always hot during this time of the year, but the heat wave that had attacked Sydney literally boiled the land and its inhabitants. Tempers flared like the temperatures and Spartacus found himself busier than usual.

In fact he was waiting to hear from an old client, Quintus Batiatus. His liaison Mira, had told him earlier that the man was desperate to talk to him. Spartacus took his time giving an answer. He didn’t really like Batiatus or his unstable wife, Lucretia. He had been hired by them several years before. The job went smoothly enough until Batiatus took offense to some perceived slight and he and his wife threatened to kill the contractor that was used. Despite his many quirks though, he paid well.  Because of that, Spartacus eventually decided to see what was buggering Batiatus. Dealing with less than desirable clients was one of the pitfalls when your job is to have people killed.

Spartacus was the best in the business. He headed a loosely connected network of arsonists, explosive experts, snipers and poisoners. Whether the client wanted the job to look like an accident or wanted to send a message, he had the people for it. He had never lost a mark and he had never been caught.  Potential clients from far and wide sought him out and paid the highest price for his services.

Now it was Batiatus’ time to seek his help. The burner phone that sat on the bar buzzed and when Spartacus looked at the number, it was the one Mira had confirmed was the man’s. Being the most sought after contract killer meant that he had to be as careful as possible. He never had a fixed address; he always had a supply of burner phones with cloned numbers. No one knew his real name and even fewer knew what he looked like. Spartacus was just a moniker and he changed his appearance often.  He hardly if ever did a job himself and no transaction was ever written or recorded. It was how business was conducted and his caution served him well.

He picked up the vibrating phone, “What can I do for you, Quintus?” he asked.

The voice on the other end was shrill, “Took you fucking long enough to answer my message, Spartacus!”

“I’m a busy man. It seems the heat has inflamed many to settle scores.” He answered.

“Fuck all of that. I only care about getting back which was stolen from me.” Batiatus said.

Spartacus paused. “And you called me for that?”

“From what I remember, you got the job done quick and clean. Is that no longer the case?””

“That depends,” Spartacus replied.

“Look, time is of the essence here, Spartacus. A great deal of money is involved. I need to know that you’ll come through for me. I want my fucking money back and the filthy shit who took it, dead.”

Spartacus could literally see Batiatus baring his teeth at the phone. “How much are we talking?” he asked.

“Seven figures,” Batiatus retorted. “Your fee would be quite substantial.”

Spartacus took a sip of his beer and looked around to see the bar was completely empty at that point. “Give me some more details.”

“A trusted employee or so I thought, broke into my safe Friday night and took off with hard earned winnings from a fight that I spent fucking _months_ promoting! He’s gone god knows where with the biggest windfall I’ve ever made. I want that cock sucking fucker to fucking pay!”

Spartacus was doodling on a cocktail napkin while Batiatus raged. He waited until the man on the phone quieted a bit. He finally spoke, “With that amount of money on him, he could be in Europe by now.”

“Nooo,” Batiatus growled. “He wouldn’t leave Australia, not without the precious thing he left behind.”

“A woman,” Spartacus concluded.

“Of course,“ Batiatus confirmed. “And she’s currently enjoying our hospitality. I’m convinced he wouldn’t take off without trying to get her back. Yes, I know we could try to negotiate this thing but that could take days or weeks. I don’t care enough about either one of those shits to try that fucking hard. I want my money and if they both have to die, so be it.”

The tapping of Spartacus’ pen against the top of the bar was the only sound that could be heard.

“Well?” Batiatus implored.

“I’ll need a name, description, last known address and any other information on this guy. Have it all ready for my liaison to pick up in an hour.”

“I knew I could count on you, Spartacus. I knew it. But I thought you would come ‘round yourself?” Batiatus sounded greatly relieved.

“One can’t be too careful these days, Quintus. I hope you understand.” Spartacus lied smoothly. He had no desire to sit face to face with Batiatus at the present. “I have a couple of people in mind for the job but it’s going to take some effort to convince them. I need to start on them as soon as possible.”

“Whatever you need to do, mate,” Batiatus bellowed. “We can sit and have a proper drink after all this shit is over with then.”

“That sounds like something I could do. Call the number Mira will give you in twelve hours. I should have some news for you by then.” Spartacus said.

Batiatus said gravely. “Okay, okay. Just know, Spartacus. I need to have this money back as soon as fucking possible.”

“And you will. Call me at the appointed time.” He said and hung up. He opened the back of the phone and took the battery and sim card out placing both in his jeans pocket. He left his glass on the bar along with a few dollars tossed casually beside it and walked out of the still empty bar.

*****

After his call with the contractor ended, Quintus sat at his desk and brushed his hair back with his hands several times. He had been confident once he started talking that he would convince Spartacus to take the job. He just had to be careful about how much he would divulge. He was a man standing upon a precipice and one slip could spell disaster for him and Lucretia.

He needed a fucking drink before such thoughts overwhelmed him. While he poured himself a double scotch, he caught his reflection in a small mirror that hung above the bar in his office. His blue eyes were puffy due to lack of sleep. His hairline which had started to creep steadily backwards looked even more receded. He face was gaunt and pale. He mused for a second that he greatly resembled a polecat. His wife might get a kick out that, he thought bitterly as he swallowed the scotch.

As if summoned, Lucretia entered the office furtively. She took one last look behind her before she closed the door. The office was in the back of a strip club the Batiatus’ owned called “The Villa”.

Quintus stalled his wife’s inquiry with a hand. “I called him. He’s taking the job.”

Lucretia breathed heavily, “Are you positive we need to do this?”

“Of fucking course we need to do this! We just had two million dollars stolen from us!” Quintus roared.

“I’m aware of the amount of money taken. My concern is that we not involve too many people…Wait!” She said overriding her husband as he began to protest. “I still think we can find Crixus on our own.”

Quintus groaned and stomped back to his desk. He slammed the near empty drink glass on the top. “And how’s that been going for us, eh? Forty-eight hours and our people have nothing but piss and shit. We already have to head off questions and Varro’s starting to whinge about his payment. We’ve got to do this, Lucretia. Crixus needs to be found fucking now.”

“I understand, but I know Crixus. He will stay close as long we have Naevia.  We just need to lure him out and then we’ll be able to catch him.” Lucretia stressed.

Quintus sneered. “If you know Crixus so goddamn well, tell me why you couldn’t figure out that he was going to rob us fucking blind!”

“Don’t start that with me again!” Lucretia shouted. “If there is blame to be laid out, then you must claim your share, dear husband. YOU were the one who elevated his position. YOU were the one who trusted him with the information about throwing the fight. YOU were the one who showed him the location of the safe!”

“And you were the one who invited him into your bed. You were the one who trusted the tightness of your cunt would keep him from looking elsewhere. Guess you were fooled as well.” Quintus said nastily.

Lucretia opened her mouth in horror, before she could regain her speech there was a knock at the door.

“What is it?” Quintus yelled at the door.

It opened to reveal a medium built man with short black hair and a neat goatee.  “I’ve got information you wanted, boss.” He held up an accordion file holder.

“Thanks, Ashur.” Quintus said. “Go to the front and wait for Spartacus’ woman to show up. She has long, dark hair and goes by the name Mira. She’s supposed to give you a phone number when she gets the information.”

“As you wish,” the man called Asher replied and bowed out of the room.

“It seems as if you have everything nicely planned out.” Lucretia said quietly, while rubbing her hands. “Do you have any idea how you’re going to afford all of this?”

 He rolled his eyes at her. “Obviously I’m going to have to use some of the money we won from the fight to pay everyone. That’s why I had to hire professionals to find Crixus and keep him alive long enough to get it. But, if I had left things up to you we probably would have had to sell our cars and pawn our jewelry.”

“I’ve had enough of your shit for one afternoon.” She turned to leave.

“Likewise,” he shot back. “Just keep an eye on the girl.”

She didn’t answer as she walked out.

*****

 

Spartacus studied the picture of the brawny, dark eyed man closely. From what he could tell from the photo, the man looked as if he could handle himself in a physical battle. Because of this, Spartacus was assured that his initial choice of a team to handle the case was the right one.

He put the picture down and felt a light kiss on his shoulder. Mira had awakened from her post coital nap and wanted some more attention. He rolled over and wrapped his arms around her as he pressed his lips against her forehead. They said little as they lay in her bed enjoying the coolness from the air conditioner that hummed in the window.

He liked Mira a lot. She was good at her job and wasn’t too needy. She knew he was married but didn’t fuss about it. She had told him on more than one occasion that she didn’t need him to love her. He didn’t know whether to believe her or not but she satisfied a need for him that his wife, Sura could not.

It wasn’t a physical need, it was an emotional one. Sura constantly fretted over his occupation and all the hazards it brought along with it. He had ensured that her safety was paramount, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough for her. She wanted him to quit the business. Her request only proved to him that she really never knew who he was. He had people killed because he wanted to do it, not because he needed to.  He did love her, but he felt that she merely loved a shadow and a thought of the kind of man he was. He never needed to pretend with Mira. She was perfectly content with who he was, who she was and what they did.

She had begun to stroke his cock when his phone began to vibrate. He sighed and reached for it on the bedside dresser. He checked the number and it was from the person he wanted to talk to the most.

“Hello, A. Got the message I see?” Spartacus said.

“Why this bodgy case and why us?” asked the voice on the other end.

“It involves a lot of money and you and N are the best at finding people fast. This case is rather time sensitive.” Spartacus replied.

“You know we were just about to pack up and leave for Argentina.”

“You said that six months ago.”

“I really mean it this time.”

“I have no doubt. Just think, once you’re done you’ll have a nice bit of change to take with you.”

The man on the other line chuffed, “You don’t want anyone else for this?”

“Nope,” Spartacus answered.

“’l’ll talk it over with N. Stop by the shop tonight.”

“Thanks, A. See you then.”

“Yeah, see you.”

Spartacus pressed the “end call” button and smirked. Mira stretched and headed to the bathroom.

“As if they would ever turn down a job,” she said and closed the door.

 


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spartacus spurs his hit team on while Lucretia hatches a plan of her own. With help from a reluctant Ashur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dolarhyde's is a shout out to one of my favorite books, "Red Dragon" by Thomas Harris.

She had counted the same six broken panels on the ceiling for the hundredth time since she had been taken and thrown into the dank basement. She was too weary to cry or even move. She saved what little energy she had to eat, piss and shut her mind down during Lucretia’s seemingly endless verbal assaults.

It was the worst part of her captivity, having to endure the woman’s rages. After hour upon hour of them she was tempted to ask to be slapped around instead-anything to shut Lucretia up. She wondered if her last moments would include the mad woman yelling, “Filthy whore!” at her while she was being riddled with bullets. The longer she spent in the basement the more likely it seemed that she would indeed die there. The hope that she clung to that Crixus would find a way to free her was starting to fade. She flexed her hands that were bound by handcuffs and simply could not see a way out of her predicament. She heard the basement door open and pressed herself against the wall. She wanted to be as still as possible. She heard the hard clop of heels hitting each stair as they descended the dimly lit room.  Her nemesis appeared like a recurrent nightmare.

“I thought I heard you moving around a bit, Naevia. You aren’t trying to find ways to free yourself are you?” Lucretia asked with a sly smile.

Naevia did not answer. She instead lifted her chin and stared at the wall behind Lucretia.

“Oh look at you, trying to be so brave. It’s admirable but useless.” Lucretia said. She stepped closer to the corner where Naevia was sitting and leaned over. “You are going to die here.” She whispered. “Yes. When I finally drag Crixus out from the pile of shit he’s hiding under, I will bring him here and kill you right in front of him.” She smiled fully after that last sentence.

If one did not look too closely, Lucretia could have been considered a beautiful woman. Her features seemed to fit together well; dark brown hair, blue eyes and full lips. However, standing in the harsh light of the cellar drew shadows against the sharp planes of her cheeks. Her eyes had a pale glow that illuminated the madness that dwelled behind them. She looked monstrous. Naevia was afraid but she knew she had to keep her wits about her if ever given a chance to escape.

Lucretia pulled an object from her back pocket. Naevia recognized it as her mobile phone. The men who took her found it and gave it to Quintus and Lucretia. They in turn forced her to call and text Crixus several times a day with desperate pleas to come and rescue her. He had not called or texted back though, which infuriated Lucretia.

“You’re going to call Crixus with a new message today, letting him know that he if does not answer by midnight, all of your fingers will be cut off. If he doesn’t answer by dawn, both your arms will be severed. If still no answer from him by noon day tomorrow…off goes your head.” Lucretia snarled.

Naevia swallowed hard and nodded. Lucretia knelt in front of her dangling the phone in her face.

“And no funny business this time,” the woman warned. “I know you’ve given him some kind of code or warning not to contact you.”

“I haven’t!” Naevia cried. “I’ve told him exactly what you’ve wanted me to tell him, nothing more!”

That wasn’t exactly true. She had added the endearment, “Sweetie” to her texts and messages. It was the word that she and Crixus had agreed that they would use in case either one was in extreme danger. She had used it to keep him away and safe. At least until she could find a way to free herself. But looking into the face of the creature in front her told her that her time was running out. She suddenly felt a painful sting coming from the right side of her face. Lucretia had slapped her.

“You lying fucking bitch.” She spat out. “You will repeat precisely what I tell you to say, nothing more and nothing less. Do you understand? If not, you’ll start losing several body parts ahead of schedule.”

“I understand.” Naevia said in a shaking voice.

“Good, ready to play the part of damsel in distress again?” Lucretia asked as she dialed Crixus’ number.

****

 

Ashur had finally arrived at the house that was situated in a rundown street in King’s Cross. He had never been to this part of Sydney and caught himself literally wiping the lapels of his jacket of imaginary dust and dirt. Even though it was late afternoon, it was still scorching hot. Ashur however, was unaffected. Regardless of the temperature, he always wore a suit and tie. He double checked his car alarm and started up the decrepit walkway that led to a worn wooden door.

He knocked lightly but the there was no answer. He knocked again and looked around nervously. He spotted a group of teenagers sitting and smoking on a curb outside another home further down the street. They caught him looking at them and stared back at him. He knocked a bit more forcefully but still no one came to the door. He glanced at the teens again; they were still watching him and tried the knob. It turned easily in his hand and he let himself in. The hallway in which he stood was dark and hot. A lingering smell of mildew began to creep into his nose. He shook his head and wondered why in the hell had Lucretia asked him to come to a place like this.

“Lucretia!” he called out.

He heard a door close beyond the hall near what he surmised was the kitchen. “Who’s there?” he asked.

“Lower your voice,” was the answer. Lucretia had appeared in the doorway.

“Sorry,” he said in a slightly exasperated tone. “I didn’t know quite what to expect when you called me to meet you here. What is this place exactly?” He surveyed the place in disgust.

“It’s my childhood home. I had nearly forgotten it but current circumstances stirred my memory. It’s finally proved useful after so many years of neglect.” Lucretia said.

“Is this where you’re keeping Crixus’-“

“Whore? Yes, she’s here.”

“And what’s my purpose for being here?” Ashur asked slowly.

“I have a special job for you.” She replied.

“I’m not exactly dressed to conduct an execution.” He quipped.

She shook her head, “It’s not that kind of job-not yet anyway.”

He began to walk away from her aimlessly. She followed him with her eyes.

“I need you to go and find Crixus.” She began.

He stopped and looked at her quizzically. “Haven’t we all been doing just that for the last two days? We’ve come up with nothing and now your husband has hired to professionals to start the search.”

“Facts that I did not need to have repeated, thank you.” She snapped. “Quintus in his anger has refused to see reason. As long as we have his cumbucket, Crixus will never stray too far. She’s the key to flushing him out. We have to make the situation so desperate for him that he’ll throw all caution to the wind and run right into the trap we’ve laid for him.”

Ashur cleared his throat and wiped a tiny drop of sweat from his brow with a forefinger. “The trap that ‘we’ have laid?” he asked.

“Yes,” Lucretia purred. “While Quintus’ hired goons run around looking under nooks and crannies, Crixus will be heading our way to save his precious slut from certain death.”

“Lucretia we’ve been threatening him with her death since she was caught-“He started.

“But this time, we’ll mean it.” She answered.

Ashur closed his eyes for a few seconds. He had always known that Lucretia was crazy but now she was stupid as well? “If we kill the girl, you’ll never see your money again.” He stressed

“Of course we will.” She objected. “If given the choice between her life and the money, he’ll choose her.” She couldn’t hide the bitterness in her voice. “And when he does, we’ll kill him as well.”

“How are you going to finally get him to make a move?”

“That’s where you come in. We need to give him some incentive.” She took Naevia’s phone out of her pocket. “Let’s give him a real show. You do whatever you like and I’ll record it and send it to him.”

Ashur grimaced. He thought he was years removed from doing that kind of work. He shook his head.

“You’re saying ‘no’ to me?” She demanded.

He held up his hands. “I only want you to consider something. Your husband already has people on the hunt for him. This little plan will be useless if they’ve already caught up with him.” He said.

Her eyes bulged. “In which will be a complete waste of time and money because Crixus will tell them nothing! They will kill him before we ever know what he’s done with the money. And since when did you care so much about Quintus?”

“Since he started paying me,” he retorted.

“I pay you! Those nice little wads of cash come from MY business, not Quintus’!” She exclaimed. “Besides,” she continued in a suddenly silky tone. “Don’t you feel a bit resentful considering he always seemed to favor Crixus? He was the one always standing by Quintus’ side while you were being sent to do whatever little dinky chore needed doing.”

Ashur shifted uncomfortably and bit out, “If I recall, it was the same with both of you. Crixus was the trusted bodyguard and confidante.” He gave Lucretia a long look and continued, “While I was regaled to the shadows. I was the one who greased palms and stroked the egos of every arrogant cocksucker with a dollar on your orders. Now everyone needs Ashur to clean up Golden Boy’s shitty mess.”

“Seems like you are more than a bit resentful,” she concluded.

“Call it what you want, but count me out. If you want Crixus back so bad, you’re going to have to catch him yourself.” He yanked at his jacket and started to walk out of the house.

“You’d walk away from getting a piece of two million dollars?” She called after him.

He stopped and glared at her. “What are you talking about?”

“I bet Quintus never mentioned giving you any money after we recover it. Even after all the work you’ve done so far, I imagine he hasn’t breathed one word to you about it.”

“What?-“he stammered.

“I am though.” She said as she walked closer to him. “I’m promising you that if you help me catch Crixus, you will get a nice big bonus. Don’t you think you’re more deserving than a couple of mercenaries?”

His mind began to race. How much was she offering exactly? He wondered. What exactly would he have to do to the girl? What in the fuck was he going to tell Quintus?

As if she read his mind, she said. “Don’t worry about Quintus. I can handle him and whatever obstacles get in the way.” She peered at him. “Do we have a deal Ashur?”

 

 

*****

Spartacus thought that he had finally found the coolest place in Sydney, temperature wise at least. Inside the body shop a chilly breeze buffeted him and he thought he felt goose bumps appear on his arm. He could barely see his way through the place as it was illuminated with soft blue neon lighting. Corners and doorways were swallowed in darkness. He wasn’t afraid. Two of his most trusted men were here and they weren’t going to let anything happen to him, not until they were paid.

“Welcome to Dolarhyde’s*. Can I help you?” a blonde woman with a surly tone asked him. She hadn’t even bothered to look up from her magazine to see who she was addressing so rudely.

“Saxa, could you let A and N know I’m here?”

She looked up in surprise. “Holy shit! It’s you! I haven’t seen you in months. How’ve you been?”

He shrugged, “I’m still alive so I’m good, I reckon.”

“Are you still seeing that hot brunette?” She asked and crossed her tattooed legs.

He nodded and smirked.

“That’s too bad. I thought she’d be tired of your cock by now.” She pouted. Before he could say anything, she picked up the phone, poked a button and barked into it, “Someone’s at the front to see you. Get up here, it’s important.”

She slammed the phone down and grinned. “He’s on his way.”

“Thanks.” He said bemused. Saxa’s front was the receptionist for the tattoo and piercing parlor but in actuality she served the same purpose as Mira. She was A & N’s liaison and handled the details of their assignments. She was an American who wound up in Australia under the control of a sadistic pimp. A contract was put out on said pimp but instead of mourning over her loss, she began working for the men who put him out of commission. She felt she owed them a debt for saving her life and she joked they had a ‘saving women fetish’ they shared.

After a few minutes, the sheer curtain that divided the front foyer from the service booths parted and a tall, muscular man with pale green eyes lumbered forward.

“Could you yell a little louder next time?” he asked Saxa. “And make sure I have an even bigger needle in my hand. I almost jabbed his artery.”

She merely rolled her eyes and gestured to Spartacus. He glanced quickly in Spartacus’ direction and cocked his head back towards the curtain. Spartacus walked ahead while the man gave Saxa more instructions.

“Keep and an eye out and see how many burner phones we have stored up, eh.” He told her quietly.

She nodded in acknowledgement and the man followed Spartacus to the rear of the shop. On either side were booths set up for tattooing or body piercing. One girl was having a particularly large hoop shoved through her lip. The man behind Spartacus stopped at the last booth and smoothed a sheath of plastic wrap over a freshly done arm tat. He told wearer that he was set and could leave. It was beautiful work, Spartacus thought admiringly. A large three dimensional human skull decorated the man’s entire left shoulder.

“Nice,” he said.

“Thanks. I didn’t know how well my 3D pieces would look but I’m quite satisfied the results.” The larger man replied and headed back towards a small office in the very rear. It was much brighter in the room and warmer. Spartacus had to blink several times to adjust his eyes to the newfound light.

“Have a seat,” the man said and gestured to a chair that sat in front of an extremely cluttered desk.

“Is N going to join us?” Spartacus asked.

“In a few. He’s quite perturbed at the timing of this job. We were very nearly packed for our trip.”

Spartacus couldn’t help but snort. “You keep saying that, A.”

“It’s true this time, I swear. We had the villa reserved and everything.”

“If this job gets done quickly enough, you might not have to cancel your reservation.”

A sneered. “Tell him that.”

“Tell me something. How is it that a tattoo artist such as you has no tattoos?” Spartacus inquired.

A’s sneer turned into a smirk, “Not enough pain.”

Spartacus raised his eyebrows but said no more. He tossed the file onto the desk and waited for A to look it over.

“Need something to drink?” A asked. He was always polite. He was known to offer drinks and such to marks before he killed them.

Spartacus declined. “No thanks.”

*****

 

N looked more closely at the man in the picture. “He looks part Maori.”

Spartacus was impressed. “His passport does say he was born in New Zealand.”

“I could tell without that bit of info. I have some knowledge in that area.” N retorted.

Spartacus nodded at the full blooded Maori standing in front of him in the small office. N had finally entered the office to join them. He looked grim and brooding; only speaking when addressed.

N was very young, only about 24 or so.  He had been part of a street gang that Spartacus had established ties with to keep track of Sydney traffic (of guns, prostitutes and drugs). N showed early promise and began doing jobs for Spartacus on his own when he was only 18.

A had been working for Spartacus for quite a few years after his military service. Several years older than N, A was a gifted marksman. It was rumored that he had once taken out a mark from 100 meters.  Spartacus wasn’t sure how or when N met with A, but the results of their partnership were particularly effective and bloodthirsty. It was not unusual for members of his core team to pair up once in a while for certain jobs, but N and A were joined by something other than practicality. They seemed to draw out the darkest parts of each other’s natures and had a hell of a time doing so.

Spartacus did not want to delve any deeper into the aspects of their relationship. All he was concerned with was that they were his best team and he needed them to be on board with this assignment.

“Batiatus figures that he may still be in the area.” Spartacus said focusing back to the business at hand.

“What in the fuck for? He has a record? Can’t leave the country?” A asked in quick succession.

“No, for some reason he left his woman behind. Now Quintus and his wife have her.” Spartacus said.

N quirked an eyebrow, “So much for thinking he was a criminal mastermind.”

Spartacus shrugged. “Well smart or not, he made off with a lot of money and they are willing to pay us very well to get it back.” A and N were quiet so he pressed on. “It should be simple track and find.”

“Just a track and find or does Batiatus want this guy turned into shark food?” A asked.

“He wants him alive long enough to find out where the money is. I know you have a special talent for getting folks to tell their innermost secrets, N.” Spartacus replied as he looked at the younger man.

A ghost of a smile appeared on the young man’s face but quickly disappeared. “This is true, but the job isn’t going to be simple.” N said.

“Is my confidence in you two overestimated then?” Spartacus asked.

“It’s not what you think.” A said quickly. “There are a lot of factors involved that we might not be able to control. For instance,” he said before Spartacus could ask. “…this guy’s relationship with his woman. I’m not quite sure what to make of it. And when I’m unsure, I get nervous and when I get nervous I’m liable to hit or shoot indiscriminately.”

Spartacus sighed. “Every job carries that risk. I’ve worked with Batiatus before so the risk of something unexpected happening is even greater. But, I wouldn’t ask you two to take this job if I didn’t feel like you could handle it.”

A and N exchanged glances.

“We’ll want double our usual rate.” A declared.

Spartacus wasn’t shocked by the request. “Every contract is negotiable.”

“We’ll start tonight.” A said.

*****

He had the belt in his hand and wrapped it around his knuckles. The woman at his feet whimpered but kept her eyes closed.

“What are you waiting on? Hit her.” Lucretia commanded.

Ashur paused and drew a deep breath. He was not immune to violence or the infliction of it. However, hitting defenseless women was never his thing and he didn’t want it to be.

“Lucretia...” he said.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Ashur! She’s a worthless whore. She’s probably been paid to take worse.” Lucretia said with more than a little exasperation.

“I just don’t see the sense in beating her.” He said.

“Do you want to fuck her then?” Lucretia asked. “By all means, do so. I didn’t know you liked them so used up, Ashur.”

“It’s true, I like them much more fresh.” Ashur looked at Naevia’s swollen eyes and quivering mouth. “She is a lovely thing though.” He scanned her slim body. He remembered how much he liked to watch her dance on stage as the lights caressed her light yellow skin.

“Fight her, fuck her or both. I don’t care. I have to send Crixus something.” Lucretia reminded him and held up the phone. “We have a deal, remember?”

“Yes, we do.” He said vaguely.

“No, please.” Naevia whispered, completely forgetting the vow she made to herself to not beg for her life. But the thought of what was about to happen to her made the bile rise in her throat. God please, anything but that, she thought.

Lucretia looked delighted at Naevia’s apparent breakdown. “Get to it then.”

Later on, as the “send” button was pressed on Naevia’s phone. Lucretia and Ashur climbed back up the stairs to the kitchen. Lucretia was almost giddy. Ashur looked glum. He snatched his jacket and discarded tie from the dingy counter. He peered out the bare window hoping that the sun had set a bit lower to hide his face.

Lucretia couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh Ashur, it happens to every man at some point. It really isn’t a big deal. The pictures at least gave the impression that something...might have happened.”

It was at the point that Ashur wanted to grab the woman beside him by the throat and throttle her.

“It would have happened if I hadn’t had you standing behind me barking orders. I’ve been fucking since I was 15. I know what I’m doing!”  He screamed.

Lucretia knew she had needled him a bit too much. “Of course, I’m sorry. I know it wasn’t an easy thing that I asked.”

Ashur was even more unsettled by Lucretia’s sudden change in nature than anything that happened in the basement. She stood closer to him. He watched as her hand made its way to his chest.

“It was just for show. That’s how you have to look at it.” She said gently. Her mouth was almost to his ear. “I know you crave the real thing with a willing partner.”

He averted his head. “I’m doing this for the money. I don’t want either one of Crixus’ cast offs.” He folded his jacket over his arm and moved away from her.

“You bastard,” she muttered.

“I’ll be that. Call me when you hear from Crixus. I’ll be at the meeting place you two agree upon.”

She glared at him. “I’m the one giving orders here!”

“Fine, what should we do next then?”

Lucretia looked away in irritation. She was really getting sick and tired of men. “Wait until I call you and then take as many as you need to ambush Crixus at the place I’ll send him to.”

“As you command,” he said mockingly and finally walked out of the dirty stifling house. He felt filthy.

*****

He stood in the threshold of the room. Their bedroom was sparsely lit; only enough light shone to see the outlines of their bodies. A reached out and touched the solid flesh of N’s chest, he licked and nipped at the hard planes and ridges.

N’s hand stilled his head from further exploration. He paused and waited for instruction.

“Take off the rest of your clothes.” N said huskily.

A quickly divested himself of his briefs. He held up the blindfold that lay on the small shelf near the doorway.

N shook his head and his long, black hair fell into his face. “No,” he said. “I want you to see everything tonight.”

 N drew him near. “Kiss me,” he whispered. “…Everywhere.”

His larger companion went to work, covering his mouth with his own. Their tongues rolled and twisted but N as always won the battle of dominance. A moved on to N’s neck, his ears and back to his chest. N grabbed him by his hair and growled. “Suck me before I stick my cock inside of you.”

A got on his knees, unbuckled the thick leather belt and undid the fly of N’s leather pants. Nothing got him hotter than to see the bulge of his lover’s cock straining against his breeches. He swirled his tongue around the tip of N’s cock. N moaned and sighed as he held A’s head lightly. A sucked deeper and longer; taking more of N inside his mouth. His head bobbed rhythmically as the sounds of sucking grew louder. N felt A cupping his balls and tugged A’s hair harder.

“No,” he warned. “I want to come inside you.”

A pulled the enticing cock from his mouth and asked breathlessly. “Do you want me on my back or my knees?”

“Knees will do.”

A turned and knelt forward on the bedroom floor. N took a small tube of lube from his pocket and handed to A over his shoulder. “Prepare yourself for me. Do it nice and slow.”

He watched as A applied the lube to his hands and stroked the thick rod that jutted out from a thin nest of light brown hair. At the head was a King Charles piercing. N liked for A to keep himself slightly hairy. He thought manscaping was unnatural and unnecessary. He walked up behind A and rubbed his shoulders. The muscles flexed and rippled under his fingers. A massaged his testicles and then reached further back until he felt his opening.

“Take it easy now, no coming until I say so,” N instructed.

A bit off a moan as he slid his finger inside his asshole.

N smirked and told him, “Now the other.”

Two fingers were inside now. A could barely stand it, he was nearly at the edge but he wanted N to fuck him to completion. N knew this and wanted to torture A for a few minutes longer. N grabbed his ear and uttered, “You want me inside you. Now. Say it.”

“I want you…inside me.” A grunted out.

“Bend all the way over and put your arms around your back.”

A was gasping for breath by this time because his anticipation was overwhelming him. He wanted to feel every single burning inch of his lover’s dick inside him. N took off his belt and tied A’s hands together with it. He pulled the end of the belt tighter until the flesh cinched. A grunted again. He face was awash with ecstasy despite it being pressed to floor and his body contorted in an uncomfortable position. N was hard and leaking as he thrust himself inside. A moaned loudly and began to push back against the delicious pressure.

N’s thrust became harder and shorter while A’s arms began to turn bright red. He wound the end around one hand jerked harder. He pushed himself completely inside the man under him and remained there as he reached around with his other hand and grabbed A’s cock. He pulled and jerk and A bellowed and jizzed over his hand. The constriction of A’s sphincter caused him to come at nearly the same time. He yelled and convulsed as the intense wave of pleasure swept over him. He nearly collapsed over A’s slightly damp back.

After a minute, he lifted his head and gently undid the belt. He saw that swollen red bands had formed around A’s wrists. He softly rubbed them as A rolled on the floor onto his back.

“These are quite some marks.” He said as he continued to rub.

A smiled slightly. “No worries, they’ll be gone in a few hours.”

“You would let me know if I ever hurt really you, Agron. Wouldn’t you?”

“Of course, it’s the rule. Besides, you are the one person I trust in this world implicitly, Nasir.” He grabbed the other man’s chin affectionately.

They shared a smile.

“I guess it’s time to get to work, eh?”

“Yeah, this shit better be worth it. We should be in Argentina by now.”

“We will, trust me.”


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron and Nasir start their hunt. Lucretia and Crixus come to terms. Someone gets caught.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tipuna-Maori for grandfather or elder.

He shook himself awake after he found himself drifting off yet again. He couldn’t drink another cup of coffee. He had run out of No Doz but couldn’t risk another venture outside. He sat at the small round table in his run down hotel room and stared into space. He kept hearing Naevia’s voice in his head. Although he knew that she had been forced to repeat the threats she recited to him on the voicemail, he sensed her fear. He knew time was running out and that Lucretia and Quintus were more than capable of carrying them out.

Fright and regret paralyzed him. If he called back, he knew that he was setting himself up to be caught. But if he did nothing, Naevia would die for certain. He cursed himself for his foolishness. He should have never gotten Naevia involved in the first place. What right did he have dragging her into the shit pile that was his life? He should have never hoped that his dream of being free would ever come true. There was no way either one of them was going to get out alive.

He leaned back into his chair and tried to think of another plan but despair froze his thoughts. He tried to fight his exhaustion but the low hum from the air conditioning vent was lulling him to sleep. His arms became limp. His head lolled to the side. He didn’t hear his phone buzz, alerting him that some pictures had just been sent.

*****

When they arrived at the deserted flat, they weren’t surprised to see that it had already been ransacked. Furniture had been overturned and debris littered the floor. They didn’t expect to find much, but the best place to start was always the beginning. Agron looked over the contents of the picked apart desk while Nasir scanned the floor. His foot brushed against a pile of glass from a broken picture frame. He glanced at the photo and saw that it was of their mark Crixus, grinning while holding a huge fish. He moved on to the bedroom to find that all the dressers and nightstand drawers were pulled out and dumped. The mattress was overturned and cut open. He made his way to the closet and looked inside. Shoes were scattered haphazardly while clothes were torn and dangling from bent hangers. He checked the shelves and the back wall for any fissures or openings. There was nothing. He nearly tripped over some battered rubber boots and kicked them aside in frustration. The trip was starting to become futile. Their mark had no family, no friends and a good 2 ½ day start on them.

He went back into the hall and saw Agron rifling through a closet. As he pushed aside several fishing poles, Nasir caught one as it started to fall and looked it over. It was a high quality pole with a titanium reel. It was the tool of a serious fisherman. While Agron cursed at the closet clutter, a flicker of an idea came to Nasir. He started to look in earnest for a particular object.

“No computer, no tablet and no address book.” Agron grumbled.

Nasir left him to his mutterings and began to look in the back room near the rear entrance where the washing machine and dryer were. It was there he found it, stuffed in the bottom corner of a utility shelf.  He picked it up and brought it back to the front room.

“What’s that?” Agron asked.

“I have a hunch and this might help bolster it.” Nasir replied.

Agron peered at the worn, green metal box, “Which means?”

“From what I’ve seen, our guy is an avid fisherman. If he’s anything like my tipuna*, he’ll keep everything he holds dear inside his tackle box.” He answered.

The box was unlatched and opened. The top half of the box was filled with all types of lures, from large feathery ones to some that resembled various worms. Nasir lifted the top part to reveal the bottom compartment. It was filled with keys, pictures and a card. Nasir picked it up and read it.

“Agron, do a search for ‘Best Bait Shop’, please.” He said.

Agron plucked his phone out from his pocket and started to tap. After a few minutes he called out the address, “18625 Corrimal Street, Wollongong.”  He looked pensive. “Wollongong. Hmmm. Far enough away to keep the local hounds off his tail but close enough to run back to Sydney in a hurry if he needed to.”

“What better place than somewhere familiar? Are there any hotels between the shop and the nearest marina?” Nasir queried.

Agron started to tap again. After a while he said, “There are three. Now if I were a thief on the run, I would avoid the pricier places in order to avoid attracting attention. A dive, where I could pay cash daily with little security is probably the more likely place I’d rest my head.”

Nasir glanced at him. “Is there such a place?”

“Yes, it’s called ‘The Harp’.”

“Worth a try, I reckon.”

“That was a good bit of detective work, N.”

Nasir smirked, “The things I do for money.”

Agron put his own phone away and asked Nasir to toss the burner one to him. He dialed a number and waited for Spartacus to answer.

“We’re on our way to Wollongong.” He told Spartacus when he picked up.

*****

He murmured once and then again. He thought he heard himself scream but only a small groan escaped from his slack jaws. He saw himself holding her bloody form in arms. Her dead, vacant eyes stared past him. He tried to say her name…

“Naevia!”

He jerked awake and saw that he was still in the chair in his hotel room. He sat up and groaned as his back and neck protested. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. He had no idea what time it was, but he was sure that it was running out for Naevia. He picked up his phone and saw that he had received a text message. He opened it and his breath caught in his throat. Attached to the message were three pictures: Naevia’s face smashed into a man’s crotch, Naevia’s breasts being roughly fondled by the same man, Naevia being taken from behind by…Ashur.

Crixus nearly threw the phone against the wall. He was literally growling. More than anything he wanted to jump into his car and drive back to Sydney and kill Ashur with his bare hands. Lucretia had finally done it. She had made him crack. He dialed Naevia’s number. The most loathsome voice imaginable answered,

“Dear Crixus, you finally called. We were beginning to wonder.”

“Fuck you, Lucretia. I want to speak to Naevia.” He growled.

“Figures you would after that display. What took you so long to answer? You almost missed the deadline. Don’t tell me; are you having second thoughts about your favorite stripper? I hope you didn’t think taking her clothes off was the only thing she did well.” Lucretia chided.

“Shut up you faded bitch and put her on the fucking phone!” Crixus shouted.

“You don’t get to give orders, especially if you want to see her alive a little while longer.”

“I swear to God if you do anything to her I’ll cut you to pieces, cunt.”

Lucretia literally snorted, “Tough talk for a guy in hiding. You’re too late my dear; everything’s already been done to her. What did you see in her? I’m curious.”

Crixus was incredulous. “Are you fucking crazy? Hear me now: if she dies, you die as well.”

“Sorry, I’m not afraid in the least. You on the other hand, should be. Not only are we gearing up to detach some very important parts from the whore, Quintus has also hired professional killers to come after you. So before you form you mouth to make another threat, think carefully about your situation. If you want a chance to see her one final time, you’ll do as I say. You’ll find I’m much more liable to negotiate than some guys hired to blow your head off.” She said.

“You won’t get the money either way.”

“Are still sure about that? If you don’t give the money to me, I’ll torture her. If you don’t give the money to them, they’ll torture you. And in the end, someone is going to die. It’s your choice.” She replied smugly. Crixus shut his eyes. He had to make the choice he was dreading. He was quiet for so long, Lucretia yelled at him from the other end.

“Hello? I need an answer or I start cutting her!”

“Where and when do you want to meet?” He asked quietly.

She chuckled, “The warehouse entrance off Moorebank. How long will it take you to get there?”

“Nice try, you twat. I’ll be there at dawn.” He said.

“Dawn! Fuck that! You will bring your sorry arse along with my money at midnight!” She yelled.

“No,” he replied. “If this is going down, this is how it’s going to play out. I bring half the money to the warehouse. You **alone** bring Naevia. You see the money, you let her go and then I tell you where the other half is.”

Lucretia was incensed. “Piss off! I will eviscerate this bitch if you fuck around with me!”

“And I will take off and burn every single last dollar before I’m caught! You can all choke on the fucking ashes!” Crixus screamed.

They were both panting in rage. Lucretia finally spoke. “Crixus as many faults as you have, I know one of them isn't cowardice. You wouldn't want someone else to pay for your mistakes. We can come to some kind of agreement.”

Crixus began to pace, he was well versed in Lucretia’s change of tactics. It was just another part of the trap being laid out for him. It was time for him to spring one of his own. “I’ve laid out the terms. You can either accept them or we end this call now. Then I can go ahead and call Quintus and offer the terms to him.” He said.

Lucretia scoffed. “As if Quintus would ever listen to anything you have to say at this point. He wants you dead.”

“Maybe so, but I’m sure he would love to hear how I got my hands on the combination.” Crixus countered. Silence met him on the other end. His point had hit home. “You’ll be at the entrance of the warehouses at Moorebank at dawn then?”

“Yes,” Lucretia seethed.

“I’ll see you then. If I see something out of place or if I hear something that isn’t right, you’re done.”

He hung up before she could answer. She knew he meant what he said. He looked at the 9mm sitting on the nightstand by the bed. 

*****

They had made good time getting to Wollongong. It was a little after midnight when Agron steered the car slowly into the parking lot of the motel. It was just as run down as they anticipated. It was comprised of single story units that formed the shape of a horseshoe. A cracked and neglected parking lot was divided by parched patches of grass. He parked in a space near the rear of the building that was away from any lights and got out slowly. They checked their guns and added their silencers.

“I’m going to the front desk to ask around. Do your sweep quietly as you can. This place is a bit more crowded than convenient. Buzz me if you get in a bind.” Agron instructed.

“Yep,” Nasir said simply. He ducked behind a nearby car. He scanned the windows of the building, checking for movement while Agron tucked his gun in the holster on his back and strolled to the front desk entrance.  Nasir noticed a lamp still on in one of the rooms and sneaked up to it for a listen. He closed his eyes and concentrated on listening for any sounds. He heard a high pitched moan then a lower pitched groan. He also heard what sounded like bed springs squeaking. It sounded like a het couple having extremely boring sex. He moved away but noted the room number. He didn’t think their mark would be in the mood for getting some ass, but people in similar situations have done stranger things. He started to check out the cars in the parking lot seeing if any of them matched the make and model of the mark’s vehicle. He had to hand it to Spartacus; he always made sure his people got as much information as possible. He was pretty sure given more time, he would have found out what brand of loo tissue the guy used.

While Nasir was checking outside, Agron walked in the front door and stood at the counter facing it. It was deserted. He looked around checking the other exits. He noticed there were no security cameras and he thought that was a very good thing. He heard the distant sound of a television playing and decided to ring the bell that sat on the counter. No one came so he rang it again. There was still no response. He sighed and rang the bell repeatedly. He wasn’t the most patient bloke.

“Oi, I’m coming! Lay off the ringer!” A voice called out.

Agron saw an old man with frizzy gray hair and impossibly wrinkled shirt and shorts shuffle out of a back room to the counter.

“You wanna room, mate?” The old man barked.

“No,” Agron answered.

The man curled his lip, “Then why in the fucking hell are pounding on my bell?”

“I’m looking for someone.” Agron pulled out a picture of Crixus and placed it on the counter. “Have you seen him?”

“No,” the man answered a bit too quickly.

“Please look again.” Agron said gravely.

The man glared at him, “What are you, the police?”

“Absolutely not,” Agron replied.

“Then I certainly haven’t seen him. Now since you aren't the police and don’t want a room, I want to get back to watching my movie.” The man turned his back to him but Agron was far from finished.

“I’m actually much worse than the police. I have no rules; I’m very good at what I do and have no remorse. I’m going to ask you again, have you seen this man?” Agron tapped the picture with his finger. The sharp fluorescent ceiling light gave his green eyes an eerie and frightening glow.

The man shook his head refusing to look at the picture, “I…don’t want any trouble sir. I’ve not seen him.”

He reached in his back pocket and the man behind the counter flinched. He smiled as he pulled out his wallet. He took out a $100 bill and placed it in front of the man.

“For your trouble,” he said. The man reached for the money and pocketed it.

Agron was still smiling, “And for the extra key to his room.”

“But, I…” The man began.

“Just stop. I know he’s here. Give me the key.” Agron interrupted.

The man stood frozen at the spot. He was trying to decide the course of action that would most likely leave him alive. He knew the hulking guy with the picture and cash also had a gun. He didn't particularly like snitching but he wasn't about to stick his neck out for just anybody either.

Agron cleared his throat and the man quickly snatched a key from box and slammed it on the counter. Agron took it along with the picture and began to back out of the lobby. As he was opening the door he warned the man, “I suggest you not call and alert him that we’re coming.”

The man took his eye off the front desk phone. “No, no I won’t.”

“Good.”

He walked out quickly and checked the parking lot for Nasir. He headed towards room 115 as he took out his mini flashlight and flicked it three times. He saw a shadow stir to his right and Nasir quickly appeared.

“What did you get?” he whispered.

“The key,” Agron whispered back.

“He’s here? I didn’t see his car.” Nasir said and was a bit perturbed that his usually sharp perception had let him down.

Agron merely nodded and pointed to the door of Room 115. They crept quietly towards it with Agron taking position on one side and Nasir on the other. Agron silently slid the key in the lock and Nasir followed the swing of the door with the muzzle of his gun. When it opened completely, they entered stealthy. Nasir aimed high; Agron aimed low. The room was dark except for one stream of light from street light near the window which was open.

“Shit!” Agron cried.

He rushed outside the door and ran around the side of the building where the open window was. He quickly looked around searching for a retreating figure. He noticed a dumpster not too far away and raised his gun as he moved towards it. Meanwhile Nasir was watching Agron from the window when he heard a slight thud. He turned his head sharply and slowly walked backwards until he was facing the bathroom door. It was closed. He sidled to the edge of the doorjamb, reached out and tried the knob. It was locked.  He stayed in his position, cocked his gun and aimed it towards the lock. Before he could fire off a round, the door flew open and he jumped away to avoid it and any subsequent gunfire. The next thing he felt was a beefy arm around his neck. The weight of the man at his back pushed Nasir up towards the window again. He managed to halt the momentum before he was literally thrown out. The arm around his neck grew tighter and then he felt a hand cover the one that was holding his gun.

They struggled a bit near the window and the man raised Nasir’s arm in the air to keep him from aiming the gun. Nasir pushed back with all his might considering the man outweighed him by more than a few kilos. He managed to elbow the bigger man in the gut. He heard him grunt and threw him completely off. As he turned to face the man, he saw a gun pointed in **his** face.

“Blink, and I’ll put one in your head.” Crixus panted out.

Nasir slowly lowered his gun and kept his gaze steady.

“Toss your piece and back away.” Crixus commanded. When Nasir refused to move, Crixus cocked his weapon and yelled, “Do it!”

Nasir bent down and gently placed his gun on the floor. He lifted his hands and began to walk towards Crixus who backed away.

“Stop,” Crixus cried.

“What for?” Nasir asked. “I’m unarmed. I can’t do anything to you.” He started walking towards Crixus again, trying to push the man towards the front door of the motel room.

Crixus raised the gun higher. “Don’t take another fucking step.”

“You’re not leaving this place, mate.” Nasir shrugged.

“The guy with the gun in his hand says otherwise.” Crixus said.

“The guy with the gun at your head says, think again.” Agron said quietly after appearing at the doorway with his own weapon pointed directly at the back of Crixus’ head.  “Extend your arm and hand the gun to my partner, grip first. I won’t tell you again.”

“Fuck.” Crixus said and handed his gun to Nasir and Agron closed the door.

“You’re quite the popular bloke, Crixus. A lot of people are looking for you.” Nasir smirked.

Crixus sounded resigned. “So it seems.”

“Let’s get on it with it then.” Agron said gruffly. He flicked the safety gauge and the sent the gun crashing against Crixus’ skull.

*****

Sura was considered a strange bird for insisting upon taking hot, steaming showers in the middle of a heat wave. But if she could describe the sensation of the cold air rushing against her hot skin, she would start with, exquisite. She stepped out of the shower and grabbed her towel. She started to pat herself dry as she walked into her bedroom. She jumped as she saw her husband reclining on the bed.

“When did you get in?” She asked.

He sipped from the beer bottle he was holding, “A little while ago. I didn’t want to interrupt your marathon shower.”

“No chance in that,” she cooed. She dropped her towel. “I don’t want to put any clothes on. It feels way too good.”

“Then don’t. I promise, I won’t object.” He said taking her in.

Gods, she was lovely. Her skin was a light honey color which brought out the blue in her eyes. Her dark hair hung in wet tendrils over her shoulders. He followed the tiny droplets of water that fell from her breasts.

“You better not. Watch and enjoy.” She said.

He propped himself up on his elbow. “Touch yourself.”

“I’m not one of those people you order around all day. Ask me nicely.” She smiled.

He grinned, “Please grab your tits and rub them.”

She kneaded her breasts between her fingers and pinched her nipples. She laughed as his eyes widened.

“What else you got?” He asked sipping his beer.

She turned around, bent over and spread her ass cheeks.

He laughed and said, “I love it.”

His burner phone began to ring and they both groaned. He looked to see who was again calling at the most inopportune time. It was Batiatus.

“I have to take this.” He told her.

“Of course you do.” She replied dully.

He stepped outside the bedroom and rushed to the study before the last ring. “Quintus,” he answered.

“Spartacus, I know it’s bit before I was scheduled to call.”

“Yes it is.”

“Apologies, but the men I had watching Crixus’ flat told me that they saw two men enter earlier.”

“They’re my men.”

“Good to know they're on the job so quickly. Have you heard anything of interest?” Quintus asked.

“They contacted me before they left the flat. They said they were on their way to Wollongong. Does that place hold any meaning?” Spartacus replied.

“Fuck no, Wollongong’s full of pussy uni freaks and fishermen with no money. So they think Crixus is there?”

“They wouldn’t have told me where they were going otherwise.”

“Of course, of course,” Quintus demurred. “Wollongong, eh?

“That’s the report so far. If they do get a hold of your man and your money, I’ll call you straight away. If I know those two, the call will be very soon.”

“This is excellent news, Spartacus. The best I’ve heard in days.”

 


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spartacus tries to balance both of his relationships. Lucretia would love to get rid of just one. Crixus takes a gamble that just may work. Nasir exhibits his deadly tools of the trade.

“Are we starting this again?”

“We never seemed to finish it.”

Spartacus sat back on the bed and regarded his now fully clothed wife. “Sura,” he said.

She broke in. “My neighbor invited me over for a party the other day. While I was there she wondered why she had never seen my husband. Of course I told her that you work long hours and are often out of town. You should have seen the look of pity she gave me. Then she told me that it was so sad that a young, vibrant woman like myself was alone all the time.” Sura shrugged. “What could I tell her? She’s not wrong. I live in this house pretending that I have a normal life with you, but it’s all a lie.”

“One that is necessary to keep you safe.” He said tiredly.

“I wouldn’t have to worry about my safety if...”

“If what?” He asked loudly. “Sura, you knew what I did before you married me.”

She frowned. “One of the many mistakes I’ve made.”

He stood up. “You’re tired. I came by too late. I’ll let you get your rest.” He then left her.

*****

When she opened the door wearing only a t-shirt and a pair of briefs, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. He didn’t wait for her to lead him to her bed. He pushed her against the wall and she hooked her leg over his hip. She was wet and ready as he undid his jeans, dropped his shorts and slid his cock inside her. Mira bit and kissed his neck. Her hips rocked back and forth as she tried to take every inch him inside her. She arched her back as he slid her shirt up and licked between her breasts.

“Oh, fuck me!” she sighed.

He grabbed her ass and picked her up as he pumped faster. She matched his pace and opened her legs wider. He nearly cried out when she grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled. Instead he clamped his teeth over her nipple and thrust as hard as he could. She yelled as she came. He followed soon after as he felt her cunt contract tightly over dick. She was tightest and hottest woman he had ever fucked. When the last shudder ripped through him, he let her down and stepped away.

“You can stay if you want, Spartacus.” She told him.

“I’d like that.”

She trudged slowly while pulling her shirt down and her panties up to her bedroom and he followed her. He reached for her dark hair which was so much like Sura’s.

“Don’t tell me you’re feeling guilty.” She said as she turned around and looked at him. “You don’t do guilt.”

“I just don’t want you to think that I’m using you.”

“You don’t think I’m not getting something out of this? C’mon Spartacus, a fool I am not. Let’s not make things complicated.”

He stopped short of the doorway.

“I knew exactly what I was getting into. I’m not made of glass and I’m not ruled by my feelings.” She continued.  “What we have works…for now. If I want things to change later on, I’ll be the one to change them.”

Spartacus couldn’t help but grin. He should have known that he wasn’t the one in control, he never was.

*****

Lucretia finally answered her phone on the third go round. She was exhausted and she did not want to talk to Quintus. Naturally, he was not deterred and kept calling.

“What do want?” She asked wearily.

“My dear wife, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you didn’t want to talk to me.” Quintus snarled.

“I don’t,” She said. “I’m knackered and I’m not in the mood.”

“Yes, I can only imagine how tiring it is watching over a romantic rival.”

“Quintus,” Lucretia said roughly. “Make it quick or make it another time.”

“Do you know why Crixus would be in Wollongong? Did he have family there or any friends? Where might he be staying?” He asked.

“Why in God’s name would I know any of that?” She snapped. “Is that some information your hired hands have dug up? It doesn’t seem a lot to go on.”

“I figured you and Crixus engaged in a bit of pillow talk after screwing. I guess I was wrong.” He plowed on before she could retort. “If you don’t know then, maybe the girl does. I want her ready to talk when I stop by the house after the club closes.”

“She’s in no state to be interrogated now. She’s nearly comatose.” Lucretia protested.

“What is she, a houseguest? I don’t give a fuck if she’s tired or not! I want to find out what she knows about Wollongong! Crixus could have told her that’s where he’s keeping the money.” He cried.

“Quintus if you already think that, what’s the point of asking her? She knows nothing, believe me. I asked her everything under the sun. She’s useless and stupid.” She said dismissively.

“You obviously haven’t been that persuasive, my dear. I think if I tried with some help, I could get her to tell me exactly what I need to hear.”

Lucretia chuffed, “You have no idea how persuasive I can be, Quintus. I also doubt that your help would be any more effective than mine. You see, I know where to hit and how to leave the biggest mark.”

Quintus paused for a bit. “Oh yes, I should have known. You would want to get your licks in over being betrayed. Hell hath no fury and whatever. Fine, I’ll keep her where she is for now. And when Spartacus’ men find Crixus, we’ll kill her in front of him.”

“That’s a great idea. I wish I had thought of it.” Lucretia said blandly.

“And then when all this is over, darling wife. We can settle our issues.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

She hung up and silently raged. How dare Quintus threaten her? She was mere hours away from getting back the money while he was squandering on wild goose chases. Who cares if Crixus was in some shit hole in Wollongong? He was coming back in Sydney by daybreak due to her actions. She thought for a minute. She had left Crixus feeling as if he had the upper hand. She began to put the final touches of her plan together in order to make sure that wasn’t the case at all.

Ashur answered on the second ring. “Do you know what time it is?”

“I do”, Lucretia answered. “I also know where you and two of our best men are going to be at dawn.”

“Where?” He asked.

“The warehouses on Moorebank. I’m meeting Crixus there and I want you and our men there and ready to take him.” She replied.

Ashur was impressed. Lucretia’s crazy scheme may have turned out to not be so crazy after all. “He’ll be there with the money?”

“He’s says he’s bringing half. I’m supposed to have the girl. When he gets her he’ll give it to me and then tell me where the other half is. Well, that’s what he thinks. But-”

“Wait, if I many finish. We will swoop in, overpower him and force him to tell us where the rest of the money is. We might even kill the girl and him right then and there.” He said.

Lucretia was hardly impressed. “Not quite. Knowing Crixus, he’ll try some trick. He’ll most likely be armed and will try to get away first before telling me where the money is. The timing has to be right. I don’t want anyone dead before we find out about the rest of the money. I’ll give you a signal to let you know when it’s time to move.”

“Fine, but a lot can go wrong with that.” Ashur warned.

Lucretia’s patience had just about run out. “Ashur, I don’t have time for your waffling! We made a deal; you go all in or you get nothing!”

“I’m in, I’m in. Finish telling me the plan.”

*****

Agron grabbed a pair of plastic gloves and put them on before breaking open the ammonia capsule and waving it under Crixus’ nose. The prone man tossed his head and coughed a few times before opening his eyes. He turned his very sore head slightly to get a better look at his captors. The man standing next to him was very tall with a muscular build. His intense green eyes and stubble made his overall look even more menacing. The shorter man had his back turned to him. He seemed to be arranging some objects on a top a large crate. His long hair was in a ponytail. He didn’t look as physically imposing as his partner and Crixus wondered exactly how he held up his end of the partnership. Crixus then tried to shift a bit but found that he was tied rather tightly to a metal table.

“What the?” he said while beginning to struggle.

“Rather pointless in trying to free yourself, mate.” The shorter man said when he turned around. “One thing I do better than anyone is tie a body up.”

“I have to agree.” The taller man said with a smirk.

Crixus tried to follow the movements of the men as well as take in his surroundings. He was still rather hazy about how he actually wound up trussed like pig, but he knew judging by the guns sticking out from the men's holsters, he was in the company of professionals.

“Where am I?” Crixus asked.

Neither man answered but from what he could see, it looked like they were on the lower floor of some type of building. There were no windows and the only light came from a row of fluorescent bulbs that lined the ceiling.

“Look,” he started. “Torture me all you want. I don’t care. I’m not telling you anything.”

Nasir glanced at Agron and they both chuckled. “They always say that…in the beginning.” Nasir said. “But they always tell me what I want in the end.”

Crixus shot a look at Nasir. He couldn’t believe the impossibly young looking; long haired, Maori boy standing over him was a killer for hire.

“Kid, I’ve got jock straps older than you.” He snorted. “You’re going to have to try a little harder if you want to frighten me.”

The smile never left Nasir’s face but the words that followed were harsh. “I’ve had many, many, many men say the very same thing to me and I’ve killed them all.” He placed several syringes at the end of the table where Crixus lay. “You say aren’t frightened. You will be very soon. You’ll be deathly afraid and you will suffer agony that you could never imagine in your rather…long lifetime.”

Agron dragged a metal chair from the corner, settled into it, and watched his partner begin to work. He rarely joined in on what he dubbed the, “interview sessions”. He liked witnessing his partner deftly extract whatever information they needed. Nasir had become quite the master in administering terror. He was always impressed.

“Fuck you, boy. Do your worst.”

Nasir pulled on a pair of gloves from his pocket. “What’s the saying? Be careful what you ask for because you very well may get it.” He said. He picked up one syringe. “The secret to my success is that I never see the need to draw a bunch of blood or break a lot of bones. It’s messy and it’s loud.” He jiggled it a bit. “I let my shots do all the work for me. One injection can usually get whatever I need. No muss, no fuss for me.”

He put down the syringe. “As for my marks, the story is quite different. Death is always the result and it’s always painful. I make sure of that.” The last sentence was whispered and Crixus began to feel a sense of real unease. He was also starting to think that the kid was actually the more dangerous of the two.

“One of these syringes contains the venom of a brown recluse spider. It’s not indigenous to Australia which is too bad because the toxin is quite potent. See once injected, it kills all the skin and muscle tissue until they turn black and your limbs fall off. In natural settings, it can take several hours before brown recluse venom can take effect.” Nasir looked delighted and pointed at Crixus, “Lucky for you, I have some modified venom which kicks in about 10 minutes after injection. True, the accelerated necrosis is quite painful, but it still takes a bit before the poison travels through the bloodstream to your vital organs and kills you." 

Nasir was just getting started and Crixus tried not to look horrified. “Another syringe contains the venom of one of our own homegrown snake friends; the coastal taipan.”

“Ooh, they are bad, very, very bad.” Agron chimed in.

“This is so interesting; I can barely contain my excitement.” Nasir smiled in earnest. “Scientists did a study on snakes with the deadliest venom and guess where the taipan ranked?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” Crixus said quietly.

Nasir’s smile disappeared. “I said, guess.”

Crixus tried to shrug, “The top?”

“Nope,” Nasir shook his head. “Unfortunately the top spot was taken by the African Black Mamba. Our Aussie taipan came in a close second though.” He said. Agron clapped his hands. “Would you like to know what makes the taipan’s venom so deadly?”

Crixus didn’t want to know at all but played along all the same. “No, what?”

“It contains an extremely powerful neurotoxin which causes the blood to coagulate so rapidly that the body just can’t handle it. Soon enough, you begin to bleed from the inside out. It pours through your mouth and nose. You start to have seizures and then you die. Amazing isn’t it?” Nasir’s smile had returned.

Crixus couldn’t lie, “Yeah, I guess.”

“It’s so effective, all I need do is inject the venom in the cartaroid artery and death happens in about 10 minutes.” Nasir stepped closer to Crixus. “So depending on what you’d like say, you can die slowly and painfully or quickly and horribly. But know this, you will say something. I guarantee, you’ll want to sell out your own mother to make the pain stop but it won’t. It won’t stop even if you beg for it. It won’t stop until...you…are…dead.” By this time, Nasir was face to face with Crixus. The mask of beauty and youth had been pulled away and Crixus saw the feral animal beneath it. The man had no qualms about ending his life then and there and would probably enjoy every minute of it.

“Wait, there’s something you need to know.” Crixus said.

“He wants to talk now.” Agron quipped.

“As I figured,” Nasir retorted and backed away. “Tell us, what do we need to know?”

“I don’t care about my own life. But if you get rid of me, they’ll kill my girl. I can’t let that happen.” Crixus explained.

“Should I care about some girl?” Nasir asked Agron.

“I don’t see why. I surely don’t.” Agron replied.

“They’ll kill her for no reason!”Crixus cried.

“Wait she was in cahoots with you, was she not? She knew about you taking off with someone else’s money. In most circles, that’s a pretty good reason to off someone.”Agron said.

Crixus tried to shake his head. “No, she wasn’t. She didn’t know I took the money until after I did it. All she wanted was to be free of Lucretia and Quintus. I told her, I’d take her away with me. She didn’t even ask how, she just said yes because she loved me. I was only minutes from her house, but they grabbed her before I arrived.” Crixus’ voice began to waver and he stopped talking. If this was to be his last hours on earth, he wanted to do anything he could to save Naevia.

“Ah, love. It can make a man do some crazy things.” Agron pretended to muse.

Nasir was unmoved. “But it can’t save him.” He looked at Crixus, “And it can’t save you. Where’s the money?”

“I can’t tell you.”

Nasir chuckled, “This fucking bastard.” He strode back to the end of the table where his deadly array of syringes was. He picked one up, pulled off the plastic that covered the needle and grabbed Crixus’ left foot.  “One more time. Where is the money?”

“I can’t tell you because I’m supposed to meet Lucretia at dawn with half of it in exchange for Naevia.” Crixus said quickly.

Agron held up his hand. “This is an unknown development. When was this planned?”

Crixus’ throat was bone dry but kept talking anyway. He was taking a huge gamble telling Quintus’ hired hands of Lucretia’s plan. “Tonight. Lucretia sent me a…text. She threatened to hurt Naevia unless I called her. When I did, she told me to meet her at dawn at the warehouses on Moorebank. I told her I wouldn’t go unless she brought Naevia. If she did, I’d give her half the money and then tell where the rest was after she let her go.”

“This is intriguing. The husband hires out to find the very man his wife has on speed dial. I wonder why.” Nasir wondered aloud. He felt he knew the answer already.

Agron provided it anyway, “He had no idea of wife’s plan. This was the unexpected development the boss man mentioned.” He and Nasir shared a long look. Nasir let go of Crixus’ foot and put the syringe down.

“Shit.” He muttered.

Agron glared at Crixus. He didn’t move from his chair but he wanted the man to know that he was ready to act at a moment’s notice. “You need to tell us everything right now. Because if we find out we’ve wasted our time and we’re not getting anything, everybody dies: You, the girl and the Batiatus fuckers. Got it?”

“I need some water. Do you have any?” Crixus said.

Nasir growled. “Swallow some fucking spit and start talking!”

With his request denied, Crixus started his story with some difficulty. He didn’t really know how much he should tell him and he also didn’t know how much they would believe him. He saw no point in lying. In fact, he felt if he laid out the ugly truth, they might be less inclined to want to help the Batiatus’ regain their money.

“I started working for Quintus a little over two years ago. At first I was a bouncer at the strip club. Then one night, some guy went crazy in the place and tried to slash one of the girls. The other bouncers couldn’t handle him, but I managed to get him in a chokehold and subdue him. Lucretia was grateful and she told Quintus about what happened. Pretty soon, I was guarding him whenever he went around town, acting as a chauffeur and doing different errands. Quintus likes to think he’s a big player in Sydney. He bets a lot on sports, he spends tons at the casinos but it all started to catch up with him you know? His drug business wasn’t all that successful because he kept giving away his supply to all the women he slept with. Lucretia would have to bail him out with the money they earned from the club most times. She was running girls out on the side too. That’s how Naevia got caught up. She started as a dancer and Lucretia told her she could earn extra money doing private parties and such. She did it a few times but then Lucretia wanted her to start sleeping with certain clients. Naevia told her no until Lucretia stole her passport and work visa. She told her she couldn’t get them back unless she agreed. That’s what they do to those girls, make them dance for nearly nothing and then pimp them out.

"Anyway, they eventually got busted for it but they managed to bribe the magistrate and got the charges dropped. That little bit of trouble took most of their money so Quintus hatched a plan to fix the big MMA fight between Liscus and Varro. He got Varro to throw the fight after he convinced all the heavy players to bet on him. He bet his money on Liscus and made a killing. Little did he know his wife had her own plan. She was going to have him killed and then take off and she asked me to help her. She told me where he would be shacked up with one his girlfriends. She gave me the key, the combination to the safe and a gun. I agreed, but I only intended to take the money.”

He stopped and swallowed hard. He also chanced a glance at the two men. Agron was looking down at his gloved hands. His brow was deeply furrowed. Nasir meanwhile was leaning against the big crate with his arms crossed. His expression was impassive.

“Why did she ask you?” Nasir asked him. “What made her think that you would go in with her on killing her husband?”

Crixus didn’t answer right away. They were getting to the part of the story with which he was most ashamed.

“You were fucking her, weren’t you?” Agron said.

“Yes. It was the biggest mistake I ever made. I tried to break it off, especially after I started seeing Naevia. She would always find a way to get me to come back to her.”

“Whatever,” Nasir snapped. “This entire clusterfuck is over a bloody love triangle?”

Agron rubbed his chin. “It certainly changes things knowing that the Mrs. designed her own hit.”

“You believe him?” Nasir asked.

“Yeah, I do.” Agron replied.

“If there’s some way, ANY way for me to see Lucretia in the morning, I have to try. She actually thought we were going to run away together. She’s pissed that I didn’t take her with me. She’s taking it out Naevia by torturing her and she’s terrified that Quintus will find out she planned to steal the money. She’ll kill Naevia for sure if I don’t show up.” Crixus heard himself pleading but he didn’t care anymore.

“I hate to break it to you, mate but we still don’t care about the girl. What we care about is getting our due payment for this job.” Agron said.

Crixus changed his strategy quickly. “How much are you getting paid to bring me in?”

“More than what your sorry arse is worth that’s for sure.” Nasir scoffed.

“C’mon, what if I offered more?”

“I would have an easier time accepting that you’re actually a Yank.” Agron sneered.

Crixus asked, “Why not? I’m the one with money.”

Agron and Nasir looked at each other and then back at Crixus.

“That is true.” Agron conceded. “How much did you actually steal?”

“Two million dollars.”

Agron almost gagged but managed to control himself. “How the fuck did you manage to steal two million?”

“It was very heavy, I’ll say that. What if I offered you half to get Naevia back?”

Agron looked away and Nasir knew that he was thinking it over.

“Never mind all of that,” he stated trying to shake Agron from his thoughts. “It’s not his money to offer.”

Crixus heard him and argued, “Technically, it’s not Quintus’ either. He stole that money by not betting honest.”

“And what in the fucking hell are we going to tell boss man when we talk to him?” Nasir queried.

Agron merely shrugged. “We’ll remind him that he told us that every contract is negotiable.”

Nasir’s shoulders sagged. “What did I say?”

“I know what you said.” Agron replied.

“I know you know, but I want you to say what I said!”

“You said that this was not going to be any easy job.”

“That’s exactly what I said.”

“And I say, villa in Argentina for six months at least. Think of all the things we could explore.”

Nasir was quiet once more. He had his own thinking to do.  Crixus didn’t dare say anything during the exchange. He could hardly believe his luck.

Agron went to stand beside Nasir while he mulled things over. Eventually he glanced at Agron and gave a slight nod.

“We’ll accept your offer. From now on, you do things our way. The game has completely changed.”


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All heads meet up at Moorebank and a couple heads get lost. Lucretia and Naevia have a final confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter. Real life really caught up with me In February. I had so many projects to do. I am back with another stubborn, maddening chapter. Grrr!

Crixus craned his neck as he tried to listen to his captor’s conversation. They were huddled in the far corner of the room whispering. He figured that they were trying to decide how to deal with Lucretia. He hoped they were planning to kill her with some of that horrible venom the smaller man carried. An even better plan he thought was to let him blow her brains out, take Naveia and stroll away with a million dollars. His fantasy was promptly squashed when the larger man turned suddenly and demanded, “Okay, where are you hiding the money?”

“I can’t tell you that.” Crixus answered.

“Hey, what you won’t do is say that to us again.” Nasir said as stalked slowly towards the table.

Crixus’ anger began to rise. He was starving, thirsty, tired and had to piss. “How stupid do you think I am? I’m supposed to trust that you two will keep your end of the bargain after I tell you?”

“The only thing you can trust is that I won’t stab you if you start talking.” Nasir seethed.

“I’m going to need more incentive than that. I’m not saying anything else until I see Naevia with my own eyes.”

In a flash, Nasir has one arm against Crixus throat and in his other hand one of his trusty syringes aimed right one of Crixus’ eyes. “That’ll be really fucking hard if you don’t have any."

Crixus could almost feel the point of the syringe graze his eyeball. The term, ‘staring death in the face’ was never more real that it was at that moment.

“Mate, I would reconsider your stance.” Agron stated. “You need to tell us something.”

Crixus wheezed out, “…my boat.”

“Where’s your boat?” Nasir cried, loosening the pressure off Crixus’ neck a tad.

“Marina!”

“The marina near that dump in Wollongong, I’m guessing?” Agron asked.

Crixus nodded.

Agron inclined his head and Nasir took his arm away and stood upright.

“That’s really risky to leave two million dollars on a boat.” Nasir said.

“It is.” Crixus began but was seized by a coughing fit. Agron and Nasir waited patiently while it passed. “That’s why I put in a storage unit that’s securely locked.”

Agron was suspicious. “Where might the key be?”

“It could be in my bag of belongings.” Crixus replied. Nasir immediately looked at the duffle bag they took from Crixus’ room. “Or, it could it be in my car. Or it could be in a safety deposit box in Naevia’s name with her being the only person that can get it.”

“You’re lying!” Nasir exclaimed.

“I could be or not. Are you willing to chance it?” Crixus croaked out.

“He’s playing us.” Nasir said. “I should kill him on principle.”

“Then we might not get the key.” Agron reasoned.

Nasir shook his head. “Fuck the key. All we need to do is simple search and we can find out which storage unit is his. Then we get a pair of bolt cutters and that’s that.”

“But the unit is locked with an Abloy.” Crixus broke in hoarsely.

Nasir shrugged and looked quizzically at Agron. Agron met his look with one of irritation.

“He is smarter than I thought.” Agron sighed.

“Explain.” Nasir said.

“Abloy locks are bolt cutter resistant. The military uses them.”

“Fuck.” Nasir ground out and tossed the syringe he was still holding on to the crate.

“Hey,” Crixus said weakly. “I’m really not trying to play games and we’re running out time. When you bring Naevia to me, I’ll tell the number of my storage unit and then we’ll get the key.”

“You seem to think that you’re the one running things.” Agron said sternly. “We will get the girl as agreed. However, you won’t see a glimpse of her until you lead us to that money. We will make sure that neither Mrs. Batiatus or nor anyone else harms her. If you renege or decide to throw a surprise our way, we fill you full of bullets and dump you in the ocean right in front of her. That’s the deal.”

“Fine,” Crixus replied. They weren’t the most acceptable terms, but he knew worse alternatives. At least they told him they would protect Naevia. It was the best he could ask for.

*****

Ghostly hands still grabbed her breasts roughly. The cloying scent of Ashur’s cologne was stuck in the back of her throat. She never wanted to bathe as badly as she did at that moment. She felt rotten to core knowing that Lucretia had sent the pictures she had taken of Ashur violating her to Crixus. She swallowed the bile that was once again threatening to rise in her throat. Her revulsion was only rivaled by her hatred. She now knew that it was Ashur who had told Lucretia about her and Crixus’ relationship. It was his payback for her rejecting his advances in the past. And under Lucretia’s direction, he got to humiliate her further. She suddenly grabbed at her grubby blouse. She wanted to rip it off and tear it into pieces, to reflect her rage. She wanted nothing more than to kill Lucretia and Ashur for what they had done. She closed her eyes and literally prayed for their deaths. She could see Crixus with his hands around Ashur’s throat, squeezing the life out him while she stabbed Lucretia in the chest with huge knife.

The fantasy faded as quickly as it came when she heard Lucretia making her way down the stairs. She no longer had a concept of time. It seemed only minutes between Lucretia’s appearances. She didn’t know if she had the strength to endure yet another torture session. If the next hour was to be her last, she wanted it over and done with.

“Don’t you look a sight?” Lucretia said after flicking on the lights.

Naevia squinted as she tried to adjust her eyes. Once she did she threw a hateful look Lucretia’s way. She was tempted to tell her that she didn’t look so great either. The days of her captivity had taken their toll on her as well.

Lucretia then pulled out a revolver. “Stand up.”

Naevia paused and swallowed hard. So Crixus had not responded and she was about to be killed as a result, she thought. She was unsteady as she tried to stand. The days of inactivity and lack of food had made her weak but she was determined to not die on her knees.

“We need to smarten you up. We’re taking a trip.” Lucretia announced.

Naevia was genuinely shocked. “Wait…what?”

The side of Lucretia’s mouth quirked just a bit. “You thought I was about to kill you just now? Not to worry love, that will come soon enough but not before my business is concluded.”

“Where are we going?” Naevia asked.

“Don’t worry about that. All I need you to concentrate on is keeping still and closing your mouth. Considering all the cocks that have been in it, I know that’s difficult.” Lucretia sniffed.

Before Naevia knew it she blurted out, “You would know about that as well, wouldn’t you?”

Lucretia’s eyes bulged and her lips pulled away from her teeth. “I only need you alive, not whole. Mouth off to me again and I’ll shoot something off.”

Naevia then knew they were to meet Crixus and she was more emboldened. “If Crixus sees that I’m hurt, he’ll kill you.”

Lucretia didn’t want Naevia to know that she could possibly be right. Instead she raised the gun higher and barked, “Get up the fucking steps, now.”

Naevia almost refused to move but gave in. She didn’t want to antagonize Lucretia any further if it meant not being able to see Crixus. She willed her stiff legs to lift themselves onto the steps.

When they reached the top and entered the kitchen, three men were standing waiting for them. One of them was Ashur.

“Hello, Naveia.  Did you miss me?” He chuckled.

“No. I hope you die, you fucking bastard.” She said through gritted teeth.

He licked his lips and laughed in her face. “You first, you lousy lay.”

*****

Spartacus gently moved Mira’s arm from his waist and quietly stepped into the bathroom. After relieving himself, he washed his hands and took a good look into the mirror above the sink. He was dismayed at the reflection staring back at him. Time and the hazards of the job were taking their toll on him. Gray hair and deep lines were appearing in his hair and on his face. Could Sura be right? Was it time for him to reconsider his current occupation? He doubted that he could ever find something else that could match the money and the thrills, but was it all worth it if it was sucking the very life out of him.

He turned out the bathroom light and left. He noticed that his mobile phone was blinking from the nightstand. He couldn’t recall hearing it ring so he picked it up. It was a text from A from a few hours ago:

**“Mark has been acquired. Will be conducting interview session.”**

Spartacus smirked. News like that was what kept him in the game. The text app he used erased texts after 24 hours but he went ahead and deleted it. He tossed the phone back on the nightstand and crawled back into Mira’s bed. He told himself he would check in with A and N when he woke back up.

*****

“We’re only fifteen minutes away from the warehouses but I want to have plenty of time survey the place before our company arrives.” Agron told Nasir quietly while they were bent over Agron’s mobile looking over pictures of the place they found on the internet.

“It’s pretty big.” Nasir mused.

“It’s a perfect place to set up an ambush.” Agron said. “I’m going to need Saxa for cover.”

Nasir paused. “Are you sure? I’m usually all the backup you need.”

Agron stole a glance at Crixus who had fallen asleep on the table. “I know, but we need to keep the lovebirds apart until we get the money. I don’t trust anyone else with that guy but you. He’s managed to keep himself alive all this time because he’s a crafty shit. If something goes wrong, I know you’ll finish the job.”

Nasir knew that every time they were called to do a job, it meant that either one or both of them could be killed. He just never liked to discuss it, especially the possibility that Agron could be taken from him. They never used the “L” word between them, but they were inextricably bonded all the same. If he did lose Agron, he didn’t think he would ever engage in another Dom/sub relationship again. Mainly because the level of trust they had established went far beyond their sexual activity. They literally held each other’s life in the other’s hand. He was more concerned than usual with this particular job. Too many unexpected things were happening too fast.

“I don’t think I should stay here. I want to be at Moorebank, even if it’s just to observe.” He said firmly.

“What about him?” Agron asked gesturing to Crixus.

“He’ll be tied quietly and securely in the trunk.” Nasir replied. Before Agron could raise any further objections, he went on. “It’s not that I don’t have confidence in Saxa. She’s crazier than both of us. It’s just that I’m not getting a good feeling about this meeting.”

Agron looked at his watch. “Well, we don’t have time to debate this any further. You could very well be right and this could all go to shit.”

Nasir glared at Agron, “I don’t want to be right about that.” He turned away and went to the crate. He picked up a short syringe and stuck it in his back pocket.

“I might not even need the ketamine, he’s snoring so loud.” He said as he loosened the rope around Crixus’ waist.

“Amazing he could sleep at all considering how interesting we’ve been.” Agron joked.

Just then Crixus’ phone buzzed from crate where Nasir had placed it earlier. He went over to pick it up and saw a text:

**Be at the North gate promptly at 6:00.**

Nasir promptly texted back:

**Will be there.**

“What was it?” Agron asked.

Nasir looked up from the phone. “It was a text from the Batiatus woman I’m assuming. She wants to meet at the north gate.”

“Well, that’s something at least.” Agron said as he started tapping his mobile. After a minute, he told the person who picked up on the other end, “Rise and shine. I’ve got a job for you to do. Yeah, I know exactly what time it is.”

While Agron was telling Saxa what she needed to do, Crixus woke up feeling as if his bladder was about to explode.

“Hey,” he called over to Nasir. “I don’t even know what to call you but I really got to take a leak.”

Nasir didn’t answer right away. He was too busy looking at the pictures sent previously from the same number. In them, a girl was being fondled and forced to give a blowjob.

“What kind of shit is this on your phone? You get off on rape pics?” He asked Crixus.

Crixus was livid. “Fuck no! Don’t look at those!” He yelled.

“Who is this?” Nasir asked.

Crixus wouldn’t answer. He didn’t want to think about Naevia’s violation nor did he want to share her humiliation with anyone else.

Nasir tried again “Is this Naevia?”

Crixus remained silent. Nasir saw the last picture of Naevia and the man standing behind her bent form, leering. He pressed the “home” button on the phone and put it down. He went back to the table and untied Crixus’ hands. “Sit up. Get your bearings and then I’ll take you the john.”

Crixus did as he was told. He gave Nasir a plaintive look. “Please make sure you get her away from them.”

“We said we will.” Nasir replied quietly.

*****

It was 5:30 and a deep red sunrise began to slice through the previous night’s darkness. The heat was already starting to rise signaling the start of another scorching day. From Agron’s vantage point just a few yards from the north entrance of the warehouses, he saw two cars slowly making their way down the roadway that led to the graveled drive just outside the gate. Then, the second car turned left and began to make its way to the east entrance.

“Why Mrs. Batiatus, you did bring some friends after all.” He said to himself. He pulled out his mini flashlight and flicked it twice in the direction where he knew Saxa was.

Agron had made sure the gate was already opened from the key provided by the security guard who was currently knocked out and tied up in the security office. He readied his weapon, a FN-57 semi-automatic and stalked quietly along the wall of the nearest warehouse.

The first car arrived at the gate and stopped. A woman with dark hair got and looked around. Lucretia had chosen the place because it was seldom used anymore and the locale was rather sparsely populated. If anything was to happen, preferably a double murder, no one would hear or see anything.

Agron tapped the earpiece he was wearing and spoke into it. “Saxa, go meet our friend at the north gate. I’ll see to the others trying to get in through the east.”

“Copy,” Was the response.

While Agron sped towards the east gate, Saxa snuck her way to the north one. As Lucretia touched the gate and was quite surprised when it opened, she didn’t notice the blonde woman coming towards her with a 9mm Baretta pointed right at her.

“What the fuck?” Lucretia cried.

Saxa said. “Put your hands up where I can see them, slowly. Try any shit bitch and I’ll clip you.”

“Who the fuck are you?” Lucretia spat out.

“Reinforcements,” Saxa replied. “Where’s the girl?”

“Are you those fuck ups my husband hired? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Lucretia shouted.

Saxa shifted her gaze to the car. The lightly tinted windows did not allow her to see inside with the faint light of dawn. “Not really and I’m even less interested in hearing it. Now shut it and keep your hands above your head.”

Agron’s footfalls echoed against the empty structures that faced the metal gate. He heard a loud pop and knew that one of the men had shot at the padlock and chain that secured it. He halted and flattened himself against the door of a warehouse that was parallel to the gate. From where he was standing, he had a full view of the alley that divided the rows of warehouses. He lifted his weapon and prepared to shoot the first being that appeared in range. He cocked his weapon and waited.

The first man appeared slowly from the left. His weapon was still at his side when Agron fired. The side of his head exploded in a shower of red and he dropped where he stood. He had already started to backtrack before the man fell and ducked around the corner before his companions could return fire.

“What was that?” Lucretia cried after hearing the shots.

“Gunshots,” Sax replied. “You’re not alone and neither am I. Looks like we’re all getting to know each other.”

Saxa grinned at Lucretia’s look of pure rage.

Agron heard the other two men yell and began to run after him. He zig-zagged across the rows of the structures trying to make his way to Saxa. Just as he was about disappear behind another warehouse, he heard the shot and felt the bullet hit the wall near his back shoulder and ricochet off. He bent down and led with the muzzle of his gun around the edge before following with his head. He squeezed off two quick shots and hit the other shooter square in the chest. The man fell backwards and did not move. Suddenly, he heard someone else running down alley towards Saxa.

Agron hit his earpiece as he gave chase. “Saxa, guy with a gun coming at you in less than ten. Watch yourself.”

Once Saxa acknowledged that she had heard Agron, she began to look over her shoulder as she kept her weapon pointed at Lucretia. They had both froze when they heard the second shot and Naevia began kick at the car door. Lucretia screamed at the door, “Fucking stop it!”

Ashur’s breath came out in short gasps as he ran. He spotted Lucretia’s Mercedes at the gate and Lucretia herself being held up by a blonde woman. Just as he lifted his gun to shoot, she turned and saw him aiming at her. She pointed her gun and they began to exchange fire. Ashur missed, Saxa didn’t. He nearly spun completely around as the bullet hit his left shoulder. Saxa was about to finish him off but Lucretia seized the chance to pull out her own weapon. Saxa saw her just in time and dived behind one of the wooden posts that were lined in front of the security office. The shot from Lucretia’s .38 revolver shattered the wood and sprayed fragments into Saxa’s hair and face. Lucretia began to walk to Saxa who had just barely avoided getting her head blown off.

At first it felt as if she had been hit in the back on the knee with a big stick, but then the pain bloomed and she buckled in agony. Agron was miffed that he had missed his shot. Ashur yelled as he pointed his gun and shot at Agron who beat a hasty retreat as the shots buzzed wildly about his head and shoulders. Saxa had recovered and shot at Ashur again, but her aim was off as blood from a cut on her head dripped into her eye. Ashur ran towards Lucretia’s car and tried to open the door but it was locked. He shouted and Lucretia was still wailing and crawling on the ground to get up.

Lucretia managed to lift herself up on her good leg and dragged herself towards the driver’s side of her car. Ashur popped off a shot and hit Saxa near her collarbone. She grunted in pain and collapsed. Lucretia spared a look at her before managing to finally open her car door. She pointed her gun at Naevia and commanded her to sit still. She crawled into the driver’s side, as Agron reappeared and aimed his pistol at the driver’s side windshield.

Ashur was about to shoot at Agron again, when he was hit in the thigh by Nasir who was just yards behind Agron. Lucretia screamed as she revved the engine. She pulled the car into reverse and tried to back out but Ashur was holding on to the passenger side door. He was literally dragged as Agron shot out the left front tire. Lucretia was undeterred. She spun the car around, causing Ashur to spin and roll onto the side of the road and made a hasty retreat. Agron didn’t want to risk shooting out the back window just in case he hit Naevia. He tried to shoot the back tires, but missed as Lucretia fish-tailed as she rounded the corner.

“FUCK!” He shouted.

Nasir has rushed towards Saxa who was grimacing in pain as she lay against the nearly disintegrated post. He lifted her shirt over her head and helped her pull off the Kevlar vest she was wearing.

“You were lucky.” He told her. “A couple of inches to the right and he would have hit you in the neck.”

“Ow,” was her only reply.

Agron glanced over towards them and saw Saxa stirring. He was relieved to see that was fine. He stepped to Ashur who was still alive but in pretty lousy shape. Agron was completely unconcerned. He grabbed Ashur by the collar and dragged him back inside the gate. Ashur wailed feebly as his wounded thigh scraped against the cement and gravel. He threw Ashur against the door of the security office.

“You okay, Saxa?” Agron asked still peering at Ashur.

“I’ll live,” she croaked back.

“Yes you will, since you finally decided to listen to me and wear your vest. Are you up for making some calls?”

“Yeah.”

“Call Donar and Nemetes and tell them to get out here ASAP. We need to clean up this place quickly. No telling how many heard our ode to gun fighting and called the cops.”

Saxa sat up straighter. “I’m on it.” She pulled out a burner phone and began to dial.

Nasir left her to her work and went to stand beside Agron.

“Nice shooting, Tex.” He jibed.

Agron winced. “It actually worked out he didn't die right away. Now we can ask him where that crazy bitch went.”

Nasir looked more closely at Ashur and recognized him as the man from the pictures sent to Crixus. He walked to Ashur and kicked him in the thigh he had shot.

Ashur yelped. “Fuck! Fuck you and fuck you too!”

Nasir kicked him again and he stiffened in pain.

“Please stop that.” Ashur whispered.

“Since you asked nicely.” Nasir said. “I’ll just ask you a couple of questions. Answer them unless you want me kick you again or worse.”

Ashur panted and tried to think of something to say to get him out of the predicament he found himself in. Even if he told them what they wanted to hear and left him without another bullet hole, it was likely he would bleed to death unless he got to the hospital. He looked down at himself. His neat gray suit was torn, sweaty and streaked with dirt. Both his shoulder and thigh were on fire. He was weak from loss of blood and he had no idea what happened to his gun. What a price to pay for making a deal with Lucretia.

“Hurry up and start talking arsehole!” Agron yelled and looked around for any sign of cop cars.

Ashur sneered. “I’ll tell you where she went if you let me live.”

Agron bent over Ashur’s prone form and growled, “You motherfucker.”

Nasir touched Agron lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. He’ll talk. You go ahead and bring Saxa’s car to the front. I got this.” He was smiling.

Agron nodded. He knew when Nasir smiled, someone was about to die.

“Saxa, I need to borrow your car for a bit.” Agron said.

“Oh great, you prick. First you get me shot and now you take my car.” Saxa yelled as she threw her keys to him.

Nasir reached into his left back pocket and brought out a small leather pouch. He then reached into his right back pocket and pulled out a plastic glove.

Ashur watched him warily. “What is that? Truth serum?”

Nasir smirked. “Yeah, something like that.”

After he put on his glove, he took a syringe and grabbed Ashur roughly by the head.

“I said I would talk! All I wanted was to walk out of here. AHHHHH!” He screeched as the needle pierced his neck.

“You should have known you were never going to get out of here alive.” Nasir told him quietly as he kneeled near his ear. “Not after those pictures.”

Ashur gasped and tried to speak but his neck began to throb.

“Saxa, when did the guys say they would get here?” Nasir asked.

“In about 20 minutes they said. They need some time to load enough lime for two bodies.” She replied.

“Three,” Nasir corrected her.   Ashur was looking at him in abject terror. Nasir had seen it many times before.

“Where did Lucretia take Naevia?” He asked him.

“Back to King’s Cross probably.” Ashur choked out. “What did you give me?”

“Something to kill you. What’s the address? Hurry, you’re going to start to bleed from your brain in a few.”

Ashur’s face began to contort. “Please. I only did what she told me to. I didn’t really…rape…her.”

Nasir was disgusted. “I couldn’t tell the difference and I doubt neither could she. The address.”

“21 Kellet…Street. If she’s not at the house, she’s at the… strip club.” Ashur coughed.

Nasir straightened up and waved to Agron as he drove inside the gate in Saxa’s white Mazda sedan. He rushed to the window and told Agron the address.

“I’ll need you to stay here, direct the clean-up and hold off sleeping beauty when he wakes up. He’s going to want an explanation if I don’t get his girl back in time.” Agron said.

“You won’t need me to follow you?” Nasir asked.

Agron shook his head. “Not this time. This has turned into a bit of a clusterfuck. I need to find this twat before it turns into an even bigger one.”  He then did a quick three point turn and roared down the street.

Nasir watched him drive out of sight and then returned to Saxa and Ashur. Saxa was watching Ashur struggle as the venom Nasir administered began to turn his blood into sludge.

“Do you ever give someone the anti-venom if they give you the information you want?” Saxa asked Nasir. Her blue eyes were wide.

Nasir gave her the briefest glance before answering. “I don’t have anti-venom.”

Ashur began to convulse as blood trickled from the corners of his mouth and ears. Saxa turned away but Nasir stood where he was. He was quite pleased how quickly the venom was taking effect, much faster than usual. Before long, Ashur’s face had turned a dark purple as he choked out streams of blood mixed with mucus and foam. He gave one last shudder and was then still.

Nasir was smiling again.

*****

Lucretia honked her horn in order to get the car in front of her to move. They were stuck in the middle of an intersection near King’s Cross. She was amazed that she had managed to make it that far in a car with three and a half tires. She swayed behind the steering wheel as she tried to staunch the blood from her injured kneecap.

“Where are we going?” Naevia demanded from the passenger seat. “What happened to Crixus?” Naevia had been amazed that Lucretia had made it as far as she had considering the amount of blood she was losing.

“Didn’t I tell you two miles ago to SHUT THE FUCK UP?” Lucretia shrieked. “Who gives a shit about Crixus? It’s obvious he let his idiotic self get captured and told those goons about the meet up. For all we know he’s dead by now.” She slammed her hand on the car horn and screamed, “MOVE YOUR ARSE!”

Naevia shook her head violently. “No, no, no. He’s not dead. He can’t be.”

 “Oh, for the love of God,” Lucretia said snidely. “You need to be concerned about your own head being separated from your shoulders.” She turned the corner onto the familiar streets of her childhood.

Naevia finally realized where they were going. “No!” she shouted. “I’m not going back into that house.” She had a crazy thought of forcing the door open and jumping out of the moving car, even though her hands were still in handcuffs. She even put her hands on the door handle.

Lucretia took her eyes of the road and reached for the gun that was still in her lap. She pointed it directly in Naevia’s face and said with a shaking voice. “I don’t have anything left to lose, Naevia. I can just as easily blow your head off and shoot myself afterwards.” She slowed the car to a crawl. “In fact I may just do that.”

Naevia, wild-eyed had pressed herself up against the side window. Lucretia looked even more crazed. Her hair was in disarray and her eyes were mere slits.

Lucretia smiled, “Actually, I think I’d just kill you.” She lowered the gun and continued to drive on. “Now keep your mouth shut because I need to think. Quintus is going to find out soon enough what happened. And then he’ll raise a fit even though I was the one who told him not to hire anyone from Spartacus’ camp in the first place. Of course he didn’t listen. He never fucking listens unless he really needs me. And when has he needed me for anything other than money?”

She was at a stop sign and waited as curious pedestrians entered the crosswalk on their way to the bus stop.  When the last straggler made it to the sidewalk, Lucretia didn’t move. She just kept staring out the window. “He was always at some casino spending every dime we made on some whore he was fucking. Now he’s spitting the dummy all over the place because I wanted more than a part time housemate with money problems and I got it.” She gave a long sigh and finally stepped on the gas pedal.

“My stupid husband and his myriad of schemes,” she continued. “The reason why we got all that money from the fight was because of me. Quintus actually fucking thought that I would just hand it over to him to freely?” She looked at Naevia in askance as if they were old girlfriends. “No, that money is mine. Every single goddamn dime. If it wasn’t for Crixus, I would be at a resort in Costa Rica right about now. All he had to do was get the money and kill Quintus.”

She stopped the car in front of the dreaded house. She turned to Naevia again. “Actually if it weren’t for you, I would have the money.”

“You planned all that? It was you?” Naevia gasped.

Lucretia rolled her eyes. “Yes, stupid. Did you really think Crixus would have thought of something like that by himself?”

Naevia was enraged. “All this…everything I’ve been through...Crixus…was because of YOU?”

“No, all this and everything you’ve been though is because Crixus couldn’t get the smell of you out of his nostrils. He’s dead or whatever he is because of you!”

Naevia didn’t see anything but red as she suddenly lunged at Lucretia with a scream. The other woman had no time to react before she landed on top of her and pressed her shackled hands against her throat. The gun slipped between Lucretia’s legs before she had a chance to reach for it and fell with a heavy thud on the floorboard.

Lucretia managed to get her hands up and she punched Naevia in the side of her mouth. Naevia grunted and pulled away momentarily. She saw Lucretia trying to reach for the gun and she hit in her wounded kneecap. Lucretia howled in pain and Naevia scooped up the gun.

She scooted back into the passenger seat with the gun up before Lucretia could try to hit or kick her again. She aimed the muzzle right at Lucretia’s forehead.

She couldn't stop the hot tears from streaming from her eyes. “You sick, miserable bitch,” she whispered. “Crixus never loved you. He fucking **hated** you.”

Lucretia who was bent over the steering wheel and looking at Naevia with unadulterated hate said, “Well you could ask him if he really did but he’s probably dead and you have yourself to blame.”

Naevia who had never fired a weapon in her life squeezed the trigger and the shot boomed inside the car. A small cloud of smoke had collected near the dashboard and when it cleared, Naevia saw that half of Lucretia’s face was gone.

She lowered the gun and began to shake. She put the hot gun in her lap and tried to open her door but it was still locked. Then the window beside her cracked and crashed, showering her with glass as she screamed.

Agron poked his head in cautiously and saw the carnage. He reached in and snatched the gun away from the crying woman before she get her resolve together enough to possibly get off another shot.

He looked around and saw a few heads peering out at them from various windows of the neighboring homes.

“Stop wailing and get out the car. We’ve got to go, now!” He hissed at her.

She looked up at him and shrank away. “No, get away from me!” She yelled.

“Shut your mouth. If you want to see your boyfriend, get out of the car and come with me.”

“Crixus is alive? You know where he is?”

“Yes, he’s with us. Now if you don’t get your arse out of this car, you’ll be seeing the inside of jail cell instead. Get moving!”

She tried to open the door. “I can’t.” She whimpered. “It’s locked.

“Holy fucking God,” Agron ground out. “The lock button is on the dash.”

She quickly pressed it and the door opened. He grabbed her arm and steered her quickly towards the Mazda that was parked behind the Mercedes.

“Get in,” he commanded and shoved her inside the car. He got in after her, shut the door and sped off as quickly as he could.

As he drove away, he constantly checked for police cars in his rear view mirror. Naevia meanwhile was trying to wipe the blood and brain matter from her leg.

Agron turned inside an alley when he saw a patrol car speed by. He nearly jumped when he heard his burner mobile ring. He took it out of his pocket and looked to see who was calling. It was Spartacus.

“Fuck.”


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron and Nasir make Spartacus an offer. Naevia deals with what she has done. Quintus receives some shocking news from a despised source.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another chapter. Here I was bragging about the sex I was going to write. This story has turned out to be rather sex lite. No worries, I put in some nasty times.

“G’day boss, what’s happening?” Agron answered

“I was calling to find out from you. I got your text last night. All went well?” Spartacus replied

Agron looked over at the young woman who was still trying to wipe the blood from her hands. “We need to talk in person. There have been some…developments.”

Spartacus paused. He didn’t like Agron’s answer or his tone. “What kind of developments? The target was acquired?”

“Yes, along with another.” Agron said and started the car up.  He didn’t want to sit in the alley any longer than he had to and become a sitting target.

“You got the girl too?” Spartacus asked in surprise.

“Uh yes, we did.”

Spartacus was quiet and Agron could sense that the man on the other line was too shocked to speak.  He didn’t think it was any point in withholding more information. There was much to be done, so he went ahead and dropped the biggest bomb.

“And Mrs. Batiatus is dead.”

“What?” Spartacus cried.

“I didn’t kill her and neither did N.” Agron said quickly. He had just merged into traffic and drove into the direction of the spot where he knew Spartacus was going to want to meet.

“What in the hell happened, A? You know what; we do need to talk in person. ASAP. I want you and N at the spot in an hour. You better fucking hope Quintus doesn’t contact me before then.”

“We’ll be there.” Agron said and Spartacus hung up without another word.

As Agron was trying to dial Nasir and drive at the same time, Naveia surveyed him nervously from the passenger side. “Who are you?” she asked timidly. “You can’t be cop.”

Agron stopped dialing, “No, no, a thousand times no.”

“I kind of figured that since you didn’t run me in as soon as you saw…” She couldn’t say her name. “I’ve never shot anyone in my life. I just saw red and then…” She shook her head as if trying to dislodge the memory of Lucretia’s destroyed face from her mind.

“You don’t have to explain. I don’t have the time or the inclination to judge you. The next few hours will determine if Lucretia dying made things easier or more difficult.”

“So are you some kind of private detective or something?” She pressed.

“Or something,” he answered vaguely as another police car came into view behind him. He was greatly relieved when it turned at the next intersection.

“You told me you know where Crixus was. Are you taking me to him?”

Agron was trying to dial again and put the phone down again in irritation. “Not yet, there are some things your man and us have to sort out before you two can be happily reunited.”

“Okay, hold a fucking minute. You shoot Lucretia and then chase after us to get me. The only reason why I came with you instead of screaming my head off for help was because of Crixus. And now you’re saying I can’t see him?” She screamed as she felt the rage boiling up inside her again. Her days of captivity and torture had set every synapse on edge and she found it hard to control anything.

Agron actually blinked for a few times over Naevia’s gall. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I know you probably went through some type of hell the past few days but surely you haven’t forgotten why you were snatched in the first place?”

“But you said,” She began desperately.

“All those people running around with guns and shooting weren’t there for a rescue mission, hon. Your boyfriend took off with a great deal of money and we want it. When we get it, you’ll see him but not until then.” He started to dial again.

“This is bullshit!” She yelled.

“Yeah, I agree and you can tell Crixus just that if you two hook up. Now settle down for a bit. I’ve got stuff to do.” He said simply while he called Nasir.

****

“Clean up is almost done here. The security guard has been taken care of.  We’re just collecting the rest of the shell casings and we’ll be out in a few. So far, no curious onlookers or police have come round. Let’s hope it stays that way.” Nasir told Agron as he put a cleaning bucket on in the back of Donar’s pickup truck. “That’s the news here. What’ve you got?”

“The girl is here with me.” Agron replied.

Nasir stopped dead in his tracks. “So that must mean Mrs. Batiatus is dead.”

“Yep, and the boss knows about it.”

Nasir exclaimed, “Already? I didn’t think that would be something you would rush to tell him.”

“He called just as I was getting her into the car. I figured I’d go ahead and let him know.  You know he hates surprises more than we do.”

“I take it he wasn’t happy?”

“Not in the least. He wants to meet us at the spot in an hour.”

“Of course he does,” Nasir muttered.

“Tell Blondie to get to the shop as soon as she can. She’s going to have to babysit. And she’s also going to have to ditch her car.” Agron said as he stopped at yet another red light. He had never driven so carefully in his life. He did wish that Naevia would put her hands down. The streets were filling up with morning commuters. Anyone close enough could look into the passenger side window and see her bruised face along with her wrists still locked in cuffs.

“Because...”

“It might have been spotted leaving the scene of a fatal shooting.”

Naevia pursed her lips and looked straight ahead after she heard Agron say that. Yes, she was responsible. There was nothing she could do about it. She remained quiet.

“She’s going to be thrilled to hear that.”

“Before the day is out I reckon there will be even more people unhappy with us.” Agron grinned ruefully.

Nasir set his mouth in a firm line and headed back to Agron’s car. He could hear Crixus shifting around in the trunk. No doubt in a fruitless attempt to free himself from Nasir’s bonds. “I reckon they are all capable of dying as well.” He said.

Agron smirked slightly at Nasir’s declaration. “We’ll see.”

****

Spartacus made one last walk through around Mira’s apartment looking for anything he might have forgotten. When he had got off the phone with A, he got up and began to get ready to leave, waking Mira up in the process. He had said very little to her about what he learned as he bustled around getting cleaned up and dressed. As he checked to see if he put his keys in the pocket, she finally spoke.

“I’m sure Agron and Nasir had a good reason for doing what they did.”

“I hope so, for their sakes. And why are you tossing out the rules as well? We don’t use the full names of team members.”

She simply shrugged, “My place; my rules. Sorry.”

Spartacus rolled his eyes in annoyance. “I need you to get to the bar as soon as possible. If Batiatus contacts you, stall him. Tell him I’ll call him when I can. I don’t want to say anything to him until I get the full story from the other two.”  He tossed his burner phone on her bed.

“Sure.” She said blandly.

He was headed out the door but then turned around and came back to the bedroom where she still was, sitting cross-legged and half naked on her bed. He leaned over and kissed her gently. “I’ll see you later on. Be careful.” He told her.

“Always,” she grinned.

*****

Quintus grunted deeper as he quickened his pace. He thrust deeper into the luscious cunt of the prone body below him. “Moan for me baby. Let me know this cock is good to you.” He panted while spreading her legs further apart.

The woman under him moaned loudly and jerked her hips. “Oh yeah. Fuck me harder, Quintus.”

Quintus literally growled and sank his teeth into the woman’s neck and fucked faster. He felt himself beginning to come so he then grabbed her breasts and squeezed her nipples roughly.

“Gwen Stefani!” the girl yelled.

Quintus began to buck his hips faster. He was about to come at any second. He began to pull at the woman’s nipples.

“Gwen Stefani!” she yelled even louder and lifted her leg up.

Quintus wasn’t listening. The first wave of his climax had begun to hit. He wasn’t aware of anything until a foot sent him flailing backwards and almost off the bed.

“What in the fucking hell did you kick me for?” He roared as he sat back up.

“You ignored the safe word!” She yelled back. She tried to sit up as well but had forgotten that she was bound to the headboard by a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs.

“What safe word? I didn’t hear any fucking safe word, Diona!” Quintus barked as he sat up on his knees. His no longer erect member flopped desultorily and the condom covering it slipped off.

“Gwen Stefani? That was the safe word!”

He looked completely confused, “Since when?”

“Since Sunday,” the beautiful black haired girl replied. “I change them every week.”

Quintus grimaced and flounced off the bed, “How about you try telling me about any changes BEFORE I stick my cock inside you.”

“You cock wasn’t the problem. It was your hands treating my nipples like turning knobs. It hurt.” She pouted.

“Wasn’t...Isn’t this what you wanted, the whole pleasure and pain thing? You’re the masochist, I’m the sadist, remember?”

She still looked mutinous. “Yes I know, but it’s not supposed to be unbearable. And I used my safe word.”

Quintus sighed loudly and then yelled, “A fucking safe word that NO ONE KNOWS BUT YOU!”

He headed off to the bathroom to piss muttering under his breath about “dumb cunts”. She called after him, “Hey, are you going undo these?”

He heard his mobile ring and hurried out of the bathroom without giving himself a good shake off.  He grabbed it off the nightstand and held up his hand to quiet Diona before she began to demand to be set free again.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“G’day, Mr. Batiatus.” The voice on the other end said.

He asked, “Who the fuck is this?”

“Sorry sir, this is Actus. I-“

“Actus? Oh yes. You’re the bloke with the misshapen head. How did you get my number?”

“Uh, Ashur gave it to me.”

“Huh, figures. What do you want?”

“I—I—Well.”

“Surely you didn’t interrupt me taking a piss to stammer all goddamn morning.”

“No sir, I’m calling because I saw the police surrounding your wife’s house.”

Quintus stood naked and frozen in the middle of his mistress’ pink floral decorated bedroom.

“What?” he exclaimed.

Actus continued, “I arrived early to take over guard duty for the person, girl…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Quintus interrupted. “What happened?”

“Well, I was coming up the street and the police had everything blocked off and they were all parked in front of the house. I saw Mrs. Batiatus’ car there too. I didn’t think I should stick around just in case the cops spotted me and wanted to ask a bunch of questions, so I left.”

Quintus began to rock back and forth on his heels. Diona who was still handcuffed to the bed started to speak but he waved her off.

“That was good thinking, Actus. Call Ashur and see if he knows what the fuck is going on. Alert the other men and tell them I said to stay the fuck away from that house.” Quintus hung up and started to search for his clothes.

“Quintus, let me up. I can’t stay here like this all day!” Diona screamed.

He paused briefly as he dressed. “Eh, I’ll get someone to unlock those things later.”

“Quintus!”

“Or you can scream your safe word until someone shows up.” He called out as he walked out the door of her apartment.

“Quintus!”

As he heard Diona screech in his wake, he dialed Lucretia’s number and it went straight to voicemail. He tried Ashur’s number and it did the same.

“What the fuck is going on?”

He rushed to his car and planned to head straight to his office at the club. He tried to call his other bodyguards, Barca and Rhaskos but they didn’t answer either. He threw his mobile aside in disgust and started his car.

 

*****

Agron arrived back at the abandoned office building where he and Nasir had taken Crixus just hours before. He turned his head slightly and heard the familiar soft footsteps of his partner. Nasir entered the large room which was directly above the basement where Crixus had been deposited again much to his unhappiness.

“So we’re early,” Nasir drawled. Agron noticed that Nasir had time to change his clothes. He was amused at his choice of attire, jeans and a t-shirt with a picture of Asami from the movie “ _Audition”_ holding a large syringe in her hand on the front. His hair was loosely tied back with a leather thong and he sported what he often joked were his, “killing boots.” They were leather with spikes poking out at the heels.

“I’ve always liked that shirt.” Agron quipped.

“I thought it was fitting.” Nasir said as he stood in front of Agron. “Seriously, how mad was he?”

Agron nibbled his lip, “As mad as I’ve ever heard him.”

“Why don’t you ask me that question?” said a voice from behind Nasir. Spartacus had arrived.

Nasir looked over his shoulder and threw Spartacus a look of deepest unconcern. “I would have but you were running a bit late from the looks of things.” He answered.

“I’m not in the mood for any jokes, N.” Spartacus warned him with a glare. He then laid one on Agron. “Mind telling me what the fuck happened since your last text?”

Agron took a deep breath. “We acquired the mark, like I told you.”

“Yes, but why the woman too? And how did Lucretia Batiatus wind up dead?”

Agron held up a hand. “I’m going to have to back up a bit.”

Nasir leaned against a painted over window sill with his arms crossed. He had not planned on contributing to the story unless asked.

“We found Crixus in a hotel room in Wollongong and we brought him back here. While were conducting our interview, he dropped some very interesting information our way.” Agron went on.

“Such as?”

“For starters, he told us that Quintus fixed that MMA fight. He fooled all the bettors into placing their money on his fall guy. But it was Lucretia who actually planned to steal the money from her husband.” Agron replied. “He said she gave him the combination to the safe, told him when to empty it and gave him the gun to off her husband.”

Spartacus stuck his hands in the back pockets of his jeans and shook his head slightly, “You actually believed him?”

“Yes, I did.” Agron replied in a slightly irritated tone. “Before we caught up with him, he was planning on meeting with Lucretia at dawn to exchange the money for the girl.”

Spartacus looked taken aback, “Say what? Quintus never mentioned anything about a meeting to me.” He sighed.

“Do I need to finish the rest of that statement?” Agron asked knowingly.

“Fine, for the sake of argument let’s assume Quintus didn’t know about the meeting. Why did you decide to show up instead?”

Nasir ran his hand through his hair and said nothing. He waited for Agron to answer.

“Because Crixus asked us to get his woman in exchange for half of the two million he took.”

Spartacus began to pace. He wasn’t sure if he had heard correctly. “Wait, you went against orders and made some side deal with a mark?” He turned to Nasir, “And you went along with this?”

Nasir lifted his chin in a sign of defiance, “Of course.” He replied. Spartacus was silent as he gave Nasir a lingering look. It was obvious that Nasir’s loyalty no longer lay with him.

Nasir didn’t make the situation better by saying, “You’re the one who always said that every contract is negotiable.”

“Negotiable doesn’t mean to completely disregard a contract to go off and do your own thing!” Spartacus shouted.

“Look,” Agron broke in. “The choice we made was based on the difference between one hundred thousand and ten times that.”

“And if we had allowed that little get together to take place, there was a very good chance that Crixus and Naevia would have been killed. And Mrs. Batiatus would’ve been on the first flight out of the country with all the money.” Nasir concluded. So much for him staying quiet, he thought.

“For chrissakes,” Spartacus scoffed. “There’s no way she could have been able to do that without her husband finding out.”

“She managed to keep quiet enough information from her dear spouse.” Agron said.

“Well, that’s no longer an issue now that she’s dead.” Spartacus said flatly.

Agron shrugged, “I admit, things went awry.”

Spartacus was agog. “Awry? As opposed to just spectacularly bad?”

“We didn’t expect the girl would kill Lucretia, but it happened. Considering everything the dear departed Mrs. Batiatus had done, good riddance I say.” Nasir said.

“Try telling that to Quintus, N!” Spartacus yelled. “Even if this scheme of yours worked out. Do you really think he would let you just ride off into the sunset with half his money?”

Nasir was disdainful. “What choice would he have?”

“So now you’re a couple of thieves.”

“Among other things,” Nasir smirked.

Spartacus got up in Nasir’s face, “Do you think I would let you ride off with half his money?”

Nasir who looked completely unimpressed said, “We would give you your cut off the top if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Spartacus stepped even closer. He was several inches taller than Nasir but that didn’t stop the younger man from looking at him straight in the eye with no fear. “You don’t seem to want to get this, N. You work for me.”

Agron, whose hand had inched closer to gun with each step Spartacus took towards Nasir said, “About that, I guess it would be a good time to tender our resignation.”

Spartacus whirled around and faced Agron. “What?”

“Spartacus, we’re done. This is our last gig. The money was just the incentive we needed. We were going to tell you after we had arrived in Argentina but since we’re all here.” Agron spread his hands.

Spartacus was speechless. He couldn’t believe that one of his best men, one of his most trusted lieutenants was simply walking away. “Why?”

Agron looked a bit forlorn. “I’m tired and it’s time to do something else in a new place.”

“How do you think you can just walk away from this life? You always said you loved it.” Spartacus then turned to Nasir, “And you love killing way too much to turn away.”

“I love money and the comfort of not being killed at any moment even more.” Nasir quipped.

“I can’t believe this.” Spartacus shook his head. He really wished he had a ciggie but he had quit months before.

“Don’t you ever just want to stop and leave all this bullshit behind?” Agron asked him.

Spartacus was resolute. “No, there’s nothing else I would want to do. There’s nothing else I can do.”

“So be it. We think otherwise. We just want to know, are you going to let us finish this our way?” Agron asked. He hand was near his holster. He didn’t dare glance at Nasir but he knew that his partner had his hand near his as well.

Spartacus had a feeling that a standoff was just seconds away and prepared himself to draw his weapon. He did not want things to end with bloodshed. As maddening and strange Agron and Nasir had acted, he had a deep respect for both men. He knew what they had said about Quintus and Lucretia was more than likely true.

“I’m not the one you’ll have to answer to; it’s Quintus who will be after you and I wouldn’t be able to stop him.” Spartacus said.

“Let us worry about him. With all that we know about his role in the Liscus/Varro fight, we’ll be the least of his concerns with half of Sydney’s underworld after him.” Agron sniffed.

Spartacus relaxed his hand a bit. “When are you getting the money?”

“Today,” Nasir answered. “Guaranteed.”

Spartacus slowly reached inside his pocket and took out a blank card and a pen. He scribbled something on the card and tossed it on the dusty floor. “I’ll stall Batiatus. When you get the money, call me at that number and I’ll schedule a drop off point and time. I want a cut from both shares.” His hands were at his sides. “That’s your price for leaving.” He turned and walked out of the room.

“Our price?” Nasir was indignant.

“And we’ll pay it. We owe him. He could have killed us, we both know it.” Agron told him.

*****

Quintus had tried to reach Lucretia and Ashur half a dozen times by the time he had reached the Villa. He had some men check out their house and they had reported back that Lucretia was nowhere to be found. By the time he burst inside his office he was enraged. He snatched his abused phone from his pants pocket and dialed the number Spartacus had given him to call. It rang twice.

“Hello,” said a female voice.

“This is Quintus Batiatus. Who the fuck is this?”

“I’m Mira, Spartacus' liaison.”

“Well Mira the liaison, I don’t want to talk to you. Put him on the phone.” Quintus barked.

“I’m sorry, he’s not available. He’s been called on an emergency. He told me to tell you that he will call you as soon as he can.” Mira said tonelessly.

Quintus was livid. “Tell me, would that emergency have anything to do with my missing wife or the fact that I still don’t have my FUCKING MONEY?”

“He will answer everything when he calls you.” She replied.

“He’s going to call me right now. Do you understand me, you shitty cunt? You get him on the phone right fucking now!” Quintus screamed. Before he could hurl more insults he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“What? WHAT IS IT?”     

A face briefly appeared at the crack of the door. “Mr. B, the cops are here to see you.”

“FUCK!”

Quintus pressed, “End call” on his mobile and hurled himself into his desk chair. “Send them in.” He smoothed his hair back and tried to straighten his rumpled and twisted linen shirt.

The door opened wider and casually dressed, medium built, blonde man entered. He smiled widely at sight before him.

“Quintus, did I reach you at a bad time?” The cop asked.

Quintus sneered. “What do you want Gannicus? You’re a little early to start sniffing arse. The girls don’t arrive until noon.”

Gannicus was still smiling. “I forgot how little you think of me and my job, Q. Alas, I’m not here to further fuel your fantasies of my ineptitude. I just wanted stop by to ask when the last time you saw your wife was.”

“What’s it to you?”

“There’s a woman who was found in a car registered in Lucretia's name early this morning outside a house in King’s Cross with half her face gone.”

Quintus was thunderstruck. Lucretia was dead? Gannicus gauged Quintus’ shocked reaction and could tell the man had no idea what had happened to his wife.

“I can’t believe it. It can’t be her.” He stammered.

“We’ll need you to come to the morgue and make a positive identification. Then, we’ll need to ask you some questions.” Gannicus said.

“Wait, I need to…”

Gannicus gestured to the two uniformed cops who were standing just inside the doorway. “Now, Batiatus.”

Quintus felt as if all the breath had just left his body.

 


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quintus exacts his revenge for Lucretia's death. Spartacus decides on his next move while leaving Agron and Nasir to make a fateful decision.

Crixus had worked himself into a respectable furor by the time Agron and Nasir had made their way down to the basement. He was literally frothing at the mouth and straining against Nasir’s unbreakable bonds. He could not believe he was back where he had been hours before. It was as if he was reliving the same nightmare over and over again. “Get me the fuck out of these things and get me off this table, now!”

“In due time,” Agron said. “We have some things to tell you.”

“Unless it’s about me seeing Naevia right now I’m not fucking interested!” Crixus roared.

“This isn’t going well.” Agron drawled.

Nasir was fed up. “Shut the fuck up or you’ll never leave this place. Now listen.”

Agron nodded in approval in Nasir’s direction as Crixus quieted down.

“Lucretia Batiatus is dead. Your girl killed her before I was able to reach them-“ Agron began.

“Is Naevia okay? Did you get her? Where is she?” Crixus demanded.

“Man, are you hard-headed.” Nasir broke in. “Didn’t I say shut your gob?”

“We held up our part of the bargain. Now it’s your turn.” Agron continued. “We’re all going to take a trip back to Wollongong to get this money. Play nicely and you and your lady could walk off into the sunset. If you don’t…well, no need to repeat my earlier promise.”

“Bullshit. I’m just supposed to believe you with no goddamn proof? Fuck you both.” Crixus cried.

While Crixus continued to rant, Nasir pulled out his mobile and tapped the screen. When the picture he wanted popped up on it, he strode to the table and shoved it into Crixus’ face. The man immediately stopped and gaped. On it was a picture of Naevia. She was sitting in a chair with a solemn expression.

Nasir told him, “She’s safe. She was a little worse for wear. She was starving and she looked as if she had been beaten. But she’ll be okay, physically at least.”

“Naevia,” Crixus whispered as he took in the picture. He wanted to remember every single detail, from her enormous brown eyes, to her full lips.

“The guy in those pictures on your mobile is dead.” Nasir said flatly as he put his phone back into his pocket.

Crixus was shocked. “Ashur? You killed him.”

“Oh yes.”

Crixus actually closed his eyes as he took in that bit of news. As much as he would have loved to have ended Ashur’s life himself, he was glad the man was dead. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Nasir frowned. “I didn’t do it for you.”

“Regardless, I’m grateful.” Crixus shot back.

“Show your gratitude by handing over the money when we say so. And about that, you’re not quite getting half.” Agron said.

Crixus looked confused. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about handing over a quarter of your share to the higher ups.” Agron replied.

Crixus’ face had turned a crimson red. “The fuck you say! We had a deal. We were supposed to split the money equally. It was half to you and half to me and Naevia. That’s what was agreed and that’s how it stays.”

“Only if you don’t plan on leaving this country alive,” Nasir told him. “The price for your freedom now is another $250,000.” He pointed at Crixus. “Don’t say another word. We have to pay too.”

Agron glared at Nasir. He hadn’t planned on sharing that part with Crixus. Nasir ignored Agron for the moment. He needed Crixus to understand that everyone’s survival depended on him not being a stubborn arsehole at this point. “With your former lover’s untimely death, we now probably have to deal with her widower’s retribution. That payment guarantees that Quintus Batiatus won’t hunt you down to the ends of the earth. You will pay this because you don’t have a choice.”

“Of course I do. I can just not hand over the money.” Crixus said stoutly.

“And we can just hand you over to him.” Agron countered. “I guess I do have to repeat myself: Fuck with us and we’ll fuck you up.”

Crixus banged the back of his head against the table. “How did this go to complete shit?”

“Where should we start?” Nasir asked, “How about when you agreed to steal from your boss. Or when you weren’t smart enough to take your girl with you. And then you let yourself get caught by us.” He gestured at himself and Agron for emphasis.

“Not to mention agreeing to an exchange with Lucretia knowing full well she’d probably try to kill you.” Agron went on. “Oh, and let’s not leave out Naevia blowing a hole in Lucretia’s face the size of New South Wales. That’s how shit gets fucked up. Now if you’re finished whinging, we have some business to conclude.” Agron pulled out his gun. “My partner is going to untie you and escort you to a waiting vehicle. We’ll then make arrangements for your lady to arrive at a nearby location. If everything goes well, your sweet reunion will be imminent.”

“Yeah, right,” Crixus groused.

“This is the easy part.” Nasir said while he undid the intricate bonds. “The only thing you have to do now is unlock that storage door. You do that; you’re a free man finally.”

Crixus knew what he heard, but he didn’t believe it.

*****

Every time Quintus closed his lids, he could still see his wife’s mangled and burned face. He had steadily refused to believe it was her until the morgue attendant pulled back the sheet to display the prominent tattoo that covered the lower left side of the corpse. Quintus recognized the design. It was of a green and gold dragon. The sinewy body twisted and looped until the enormous, gaping mouth was nearly devouring the fringed tail. He remembered when Lucretia got the damn thing. She was thrilled with it and couldn’t stop admiring it, even when Quintus fucked her at his desk at the club. But now she was dead and he was sitting in an interrogation room with Gannicus the smiling fuck, grilling him over his whereabouts.

“Now tell me, what time did you arrive at this other woman’s apartment again?” the blonde cop asked. He was dressed rather casually for an inspector and he hadn’t bothered to shave that morning. Quintus wanted to tell him that he was a walking Wikipedia picture of the stereotypical vice cop.

“I already told you that. Why are you wasting time talking to me when the person who killed my wife is still fucking OUT THERE?” He bellowed.

Gannicus who was sitting across from Quintus at a table in the tiny white room, coolly appraised the man opposite him. “That’s a simple enough question to answer, because I believe you had something to do with your wife’s death. You may not have pulled the trigger, but you’re behind it. I’m willing to bet everything, except on one of your fixed fights.” He couldn’t help but grin at that last dig.

Quintus nodded and tapped his lighter on the table. He wanted nothing more than to shove it up the fucker’s nose. “Fine,” he murmured. “If you have something on me, take out the cuffs and haul me in a cell right now.” He waited for a second for a response. “But if you don’t, you have no reason to hold me any longer. I’ve answered all of your bullshit questions. You know you don’t have a goddamn thing on me. Otherwise you would have gotten the fuck out of my face and let homicide take over. You wanker, you’re so busy getting your dick hard over me taking the fall for anything you can conjure up, you’ve ignored an actual crime-murder!”

Quintus stood up, “Now I’m walking out this piss hole and if you want anything else from me, you’ll have to go through my lawyer.”

“Sit down.” Gannicus said. He was no longer smiling.

“Make me, you jumped up, steroid guzzling bastard!”

Gannicus rose slowly but was interrupted by a tap on the door. “Yeah?” he called out.

The door cracked open and a young, brunette woman stuck her head in the door. “I need to talk to you for a sec, Gannicus.”

“You stay.” He told Quintus as he strode out of the room.

“Fuck you!” Quintus yelled back.

When Gannicus stepped out into the rather crowded hallway, he closed the door behind him. “Please tell me something good, Sybil.”

She looked away slightly, “Well it’s good if you weren’t expecting to arrest Quintus Batiatus today.”

“Shit.”

“His alibi checks out. In fact they found his lady friend still handcuffed to the bed.”

Gannicus closed his eyes in exasperation. “You don’t have _any_ good news for me?”

Sybil shrugged, “Homicide says they have eyewitnesses that place another man and a woman at the scene of the shooting. Neither one of them fits the husband’s description. Um, and they want to you to back off at this point as well.”

“On whose say?” Gannicus barked.

“Captain Oenomaus.”

Gannicus turned away from her, yanked open the door and walked back into the interrogation room.

“What did your little friend tell you? You have to let me go?” Quintus asked with a smirk. “That’s what I thought. You can stay here. No need to see me out.”

Gannicus stood in his way. “The day will come when all the muck and shit you’ve piled up will come crashing down on you, Batiatus. I promise you, I’ll be there to see you buried in it.” He said.

Quintus side stepped him and left the room briskly. He was already on his phone by the time he reached the front desk. A hoarse voice answered after the first ring, “Yeah.”

“Theokles, are you a bit restless?”

“A bit, Quintus. What did you have in mind?”

He made sure he wasn’t overheard. “I need you to gather some of your friends and rush over to the Sinuessa Bar on Pitt Street, right now. There should be a lovely lady there with long dark hair. Keep her company until I arrive.”

“Sure thing.”

Quintus made and ended another call before the last and most important one as he passed by the desks filled with police and arrestees. As he strolled out of the station and onto the sidewalk to wait for his ride, he stated to dial again.

“Hello?”

“Oh, it’s Mira the liaison again. Don’t tell me the main man is still unavailable.”

“He is. As I told you before, he will call you as soon as he can.”

“Then I can share the news that my wife is dead. Maybe then he can share with me how the fuck that happened!”

Mira was silent.

“Hello, anyone still there?”

“Spartacus will call you soon.”

“You know, this sort of thing shouldn’t be done over the phone. We should all sit down and talk in person. He still hangs out at that bar on Pitt Street, right?”

“I have no idea.” Mira answered calmly.

“Yeah, yeah I think he does. Tell him when you talk to him to meet me there in half an hour or I’ll have to make a visit to Sura. She may know something, you reckon?”

“If you know what’s best for you, I suggest you not threaten him.” She was floored that Quintus knew so much about Spartacus’ life and his comings and goings.

“And if he knows what’s best for him, he better be there with my money and an explanation as to why my wife is getting cut open by the fucking coroner. Tell him what I said!” He then hung up on her.

As his car drove up, he climbed in and told the driver, “Go to Pitt Street.”

*****

The phone in Mira’s hand was shaking as she tried to dial Spartacus’ number. She actually had to stop and redial a couple of times.

“You need to call Batiatus right away. He knows his wife is dead.” She told him when he answered.

“I will soon enough. I have some arrangements to make.” He said.

“No Spartacus. Batiatus is on his way to the bar. He wants you to meet him here with the money or he’ll go to Sura.”

She didn’t hear anything for several seconds, not even his breath.

“Get everyone out of the bar right now. Lock up and leave right after.” He said finally. “Go to a hotel because if he knows where Sura is, he’ll know where you live as well.”

“What about you? I’m not leaving you here to deal with him alone.” She exclaimed.

“Mira, I can handle Quintus. You need to be available just in case Sura…needs protection.”

She didn’t quite know what to say in regards to that. She had never intended to meet Spartacus’ wife under any circumstances. But now, she was being asked to save the woman’s life. Not only that, they were in danger of losing the man they shared.

“What about Agron and Nasir? They would come and back you up if you asked them.” She said desperately.

“No, they won’t. Do as I ask. I’ll be in touch later.” He ended the call then. She was left with so many unspoken things hanging in her throat. Her mouth was even slightly open; ready to say words that she thought she would never get around to saying. There was such a sense of finality in this last conversation. She was frightened and that was as rare an emotion for her as love.

“Shit,” she muttered. It was not the time to get entangled in her feelings. She looked around the bar which was already filling up with the mid-morning regulars. She grabbed a sturdy glass and banged it against the top of the bar.

She shouted, “Hello everyone! I have a bit of bad news. We’re going to have to close the place for a bit.”

Someone yelled from a booth, “What?”

“We’re going to have to close up. I’m going to ask you to leave right now.”

With a lot of grumbling, the crowd began to disperse. Mira found herself literally pushing the slower ones out of the door.

“Yes, we’ll open again very soon.” She reassured an old drunkard while prying a beer mug out of his hands. She placed the “Closed” sign on the door. Before she could attempt to shut it, a giant of a man forced himself inside the threshold accompanied by two other men.

“Get out!” She shouted at the waitress. The girl was rooted to the spot in fear as she saw the huge albino man crash through the door. Mira saw the man reach towards the holster under his armpit. She dropped the mug as she ran and flung herself over the top of the bar. The shots rang through the air and glass shattered and fell around her. From her position, she saw the waitress collapse and could see the blood pooling on her shirt.

“No!” she said through gritted teeth. She crawled on the floor behind the bar towards the cash register where she kept her gun.  As she reached it, she saw a rough, doughy face lean over. She took the safety off the Glock in one smooth motion, pointed the muzzle and let off a shot. The bullet hit the man in his right eye. He fell back heavily as more gunfire rocketed out.

Then there was silence. A heavy cloud of gunpowder and dust floated above her. She remained where she was, crouched between the destroyed register and a pile of shot up liquor bottles. A raspy voice cut through the stillness, “Hey there, little lady. Why don’t you put that gun down and come out from behind that bar?”

“Fuck you! Get out of here before I kill you all.” Mira answered.

The voice taunted, “Oh really, just you and one gun?”

“I’ve already killed one of you. I’ll be glad to take out another.”

“Do your worst because once we’ve caught you, we’ll do our worst.”

She then heard several guns being cocked. She wasn’t sure exactly how many people were in the bar with her. She still had a full clip but she knew she was outnumbered and she was no superhero. Her hand was starting to sweat. She switched the gun to the other hand and rubbed it on her jeans. She wasn’t ready to die but as she heard the footsteps move closer to her hiding place, her death seemed imminent. _Spartacus_ was one of her last thoughts as she stood up and faced the gunman. She was not going to be captured and tortured for information. She would never allow herself to be used as bait to lure him to his death. She felt the burn as one bullet hit her chest and then another. She continued to fire her gun and she did as she said she would. She took out another one of Batiatus’ men before she finally fell.

*****

“You were supposed to keep her alive.” Quintus sighed and he stepped over broken glasses and overturned tables. He peered over the bar and saw the waitress and Mira sprawled on the floor. Mira’s beautiful hair was bathed in blood as her eyes were open but glazed over in death. “She was a smoking hot Shelia. No wonder why Spartacus kept around. Well since you all have decided to make a total fucking mess of the place, then you can find her fucking mobile. Get on with it and hurry. I don't want to see the cops again today!”

The remaining gunman stepped behind the bar and began to look for Mira’s phone. Quintus plucked an unbroken glass from the shelf from the far wall and filled it from the last intact tap at the bar. He picked up a chair and took a seat. He sipped his beer and watched his men paw over Mira’s body. The giant albino grabbed a black object and made his way over to him. “I think this is it, boss.”

Quintus reached for it and started to look for the last number dialed. He knew a burner phone when he saw it. It was a cheap Motorola and Mira hadn’t bothered to set up a pin. Within no time, the phone was ringing and he heard Spartacus answer.

“Hello Spartacus. Are you ready to talk to me?”

“Where is Mira and what have you done to her?”

“Mira is right here and I haven’t done a thing...”

“If you value what’s left of your life, you will not hurt her.”

Quintus sucked his teeth. “I wasn’t finished. My men on the other hand, shot her full of holes. It didn’t have to be this way, Spartacus. None of this had to happen.”

“You’re a dead man, Quintus.”

“Not yet and before I’d leave this earth, I’d kill your wife.”

“You’ll never find her.”

“I think I have a bit of a clue. She’s always working in her garden of hers. Her desert pea patch is quite lovely.”

“You’ve been to my house?”

Quintus chuckled. “What do you think? But anyway, you have some information for me. What happened to Lucretia? Where is Ashur and my other men?  Why are you fucking with me?”

“You might have been owed an explanation before but now I simply don’t a fuck about you or your dead wife. She brought it upon herself and you’ve been a fool longer than you had any business being. You won’t have much more time to mourn over a woman who planned your death though. It’s time for me to make my move since you’ve made yours. You’ll be seeing me soon enough, Quintus.”

“I’m sure I will, Spartacus.”

*****

Agron, Nasir and Crixus were halfway to Wollongong when the burner phone in Nasir’s pocket rang. He reached for it and saw a number he recognized from the card Spartacus had left with them. He picked up but was silent as the voice on the other end began speaking rapidly. The caller hung up and Nasir looked shocked. “Pull over,” he told Agron.

“What?”

“Pull over. I have to tell you something and I don’t want him hearing.”

“Thanks a fucking lot,” Crixus grumbled. “I wouldn’t have wanted to know anyway.”

“Be quiet.” Nasir said to him. His brown eyes flashed angrily. “Now.” He told Agron.

Agron glared at him and was about to ask him exactly what the hell was going on but Nasir’s face that told him something terrible had just happened.

“Fine,” he sighed and headed off an exit.

“What the hell? What are you doing?” Crixus demanded.

“You heard him. Shut the fuck up.” Agron said.

When Agron pulled into the parking lot of a fuel station and parked, Nasir hopped out the car.  Agron took the keys from the ignition and told Crixus, “I’ll be watching. Try to escape and you’ll know what will happen.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Crixus said dryly.

Agron got out of the car and headed towards Nasir who was standing at the corner of the building. He kept his eye on the occupant of the backseat as he hissed at his partner. “Would you mind telling me what the hell that was all about?”

“That was Spartacus. Mira’s been killed.” Nasir said in a quiet tone.

Agron’s eyes widened in horror as he asked, “What the fuck happened?”

“Quintus Batiatus and his men ambushed her at the bar. They were looking for Spartacus because they believe he was responsible for Lucretia’s death.”

Agron lowered his head.

“Spartacus said he was on his way to get his wife and put her in hiding because Batiatus threatened her too. He wants us to meet him at that strip club Quintus owns with the money at 2 A.M. He wanted to know if we’d bring our guns along as well.”

“That’s it?” Agron asked.

“Isn’t that enough?” Nasir asked back.

“No, I mean. He didn’t say anything about…” He stopped. He figured Spartacus was in hiding and didn’t need to be found at that point. He also knew what Spartacus was asking them to do later on. He looked at Crixus scowling in the backseat. Agron hadn’t bothered to leave the air conditioner on and it was scorching outside.

“We’ll deliver the money as agreed.” Agron declared.

“Will we go there fully armed and not be expected to fight?”

“We’ll have to decide that won’t we?”

Nasir didn't answer.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spartacus makes his final plans. Gannicus broods while Nasir, Agron and Crixus see their deal to the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Haori is a derogatory word for Maori.

Sura kept her eyes on the road as she sat beside Spartacus. She had not said much since he had burst in the house and told her pack quickly. The situation wasn’t new to her. It had happened before but not in a long time. She thought herself a fool for wanting those days to finally be over.

“I’ll leave a mobile with you. Don’t call me on yours.” Spartacus said cutting into the silence.

Sura rubbed her temple but she still didn’t look at him. “I know.”

“Anything you need, Lugo will get it for you.” He said as he made a turn onto a two lane road that lead out of the city.

“Fine.”

“I’m sorry Sura. You know if there was any way I could have avoided this I would have.”

“Do you know how many I’ve heard that over the years? Don’t you think that maybe one day I would get tired of hearing it?” She asked, finally looking at him.

“I know but you’ll be hunted down and killed if I don’t.”

“What did you do or should I even ask?”

“I got into business with the wrong people. It’s my fault completely and now you’re paying the price for it.” He drove into the lot of an apartment building and shut off the engine.

She peeked out the window with barely disguised disinterest. “What is this?”

“It’s where you’ll be for a while. You’ll be protected here. A friend of mine owns this.”

“Is this a friend who happens to be in the same line of business as you?” She queried.

“More or less, she owes me a favor.” He told her while he got out of the car.

“She?” Sura asked, not moving from where she sat. “Who is she?”

“Sura, I’ve got too much other shit to deal with than you wondering if I’m cheating with Laeta.” He shouted.

“Is that her name?”

“Get out of the car.”

She stepped out and slammed his car door knowing that it irritated him to no end. He walked towards her and grabbed her shoulders. “I don’t want to leave things between us this way.”

“You’re acting like you aren’t planning to come back for a while…if at all.” She said as she searched his face. “Spartacus.”

“If you don’t hear from me in three days, Lugo’s going to give you an envelope. It contains all the insurance information, deeds, certificates…”

“Okay, stop it.” She interrupted. “You’re scaring me.”

“Now you’re scared?” He was incredulous. “What did you think this was all about Sura?”

“I know what this is about but you’ve never wanted to leave that information with me before. You’ve always come back. You’ve always known you would come back. Why is it different now?”

“It just is.” He said smoothing the black hair that hung from her shoulder. “Stay here and don’t leave until I come and get you or Lugo delivers the envelope. Do you understand?”

She grabbed his face in her hands. “You’re not coming back are you?”

“I’ll try everything in my power to.” He kissed her hard and then yanked her hands from his cheeks.

Through her tears, she grabbed her bags from the front seat and followed him towards a brick walkway. She finally looked around her new temporary residence. It was a white stucco building surrounded by a black wrought iron fence. Sage and bush grass plants were neatly lined near the front doors. She thought it was a nice prison. While Spartacus rapped on the door she tried to recall a good memory of them together-any kind but terror prevented her from doing so. When a short, red haired young woman with full cheeks answered the door, she wiped her tears and followed her husband inside.

*****

“Okay, we need to stop off at the motel before we head to the marina.” Crixus said after finishing up his third bottle of water. He could not seem to quench his thirst. He threw the empty one on the backseat floor of the battered Volkswagon they were riding in and began to reach for another.

“Fuck the fuck out of me!” Agron exclaimed. “When were you going to share that info?”

“I just did,” Crixus said simply and started to gulp down more water.

“I should have let you kill him when you wanted to,” Agron muttered to Nasir and gripped the steering wheel more tightly. He rounded the corner and headed back towards The Harp. Nasir didn’t respond. Instead, he peered at Crixus from the rearview mirror.

“What exactly is going to happen once we get there?” Agron asked.

“I go in and get the key.” Crixus replied.

Agron was beyond disgusted at that point. “The key was at that pig sty all along? So you did lie.”

Crixus shrugged, “Did I? I don’t remember.” He belched loudly.

“Oh yeah, you definitely should have killed him.” Agron muttered again.

He entered the run down parking lot. Crixus then told him to park near the front office door. When Agron threw him a questioning look, he told him that the key was being held for him. Before his partner could explode in rage, Nasir turned to face Crixus and gestured for him to bring his bound hands forward. He untied them and announced that he would accompany Crixus into the office. He then told Agron, “I’m sure you made it so that the person at the front desk never wants to see you again.”

Agron quirked an eyebrow, “I do what I can.”

As they exited the car, Nasir said to Crixus, “Wait.”

Crixus rounded on him, “What? What? You’re the ones with the bugs up your arses trying to get your grubby hands on this money so you can fly off somewhere. What’s the hold up?”

Nasir gave him an imperious look, “Because I need to let you know before you decide to try your final move, it would be best not to.”

“I’m not-“ Crixus began

“Save it. I could literally hear the rusty gears turning in your head. Need I remind you, our business isn’t finished?”

Crixus sniffed, “As if I didn’t know.”

“Perhaps you don’t. Remember, your girl isn’t here. In fact, you have no idea where she is. And if something happens to me when I walk in that office, you never will.” He pulled out his mobile from his jeans pocket. “There’s a code here that I can send to the person who has Naevia just in case something unexpected happens. Not to worry, if I’m incapacitated, my partner has the same code.” He continued as he inclined his head towards the car where Agron was still sitting.

“You wouldn’t hurt her, not after you went through all that trouble to save her.” Crixus said.

“Please don’t mistake me as some kind of anti-hero. Getting your girlfriend was just a means to an end. I care about the money, that’s it.” He said as he stuck his mobile back into his pocket.

“I wonder if your _partner_ is aware of that.” Crixus said contemptuously. “I bet you wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of him for that money.”

Maybe it was the heat, the lack of a real meal or the continued stress of the situation, but Nasir suddenly found his hands around Crixus’ throat. “You fucker!” He snarled. Agron immediately jumped out of the car and pulled them apart as Crixus had reared his fist back to punch Nasir in the face.

“Cool it!” he roared. “What the fuck are you two doing?”

“Ask your buddy, mate!” Crixus shouted back. “I didn’t do shit. If he puts his hands on me again, this deal is off!”

Agron pointed at him, “You don’t make the goddamn rules here! You will go in that fucking office and get that key and you will not antagonize him again.” His breath was coming is short rasps and his green eyes were wide.

Nasir who had his hand over the gun hidden in his back holster said flatly, “Let’s go. We’re attracting attention.” Agron gave him a searching look, but Nasir shook his head slightly and only said, “Keep your mobile handy.”  He knew that he had nearly blown it by losing his temper. What Crixus had said should not have irritated him as much as it did. The possibility of him ever harming Agron was as remote as him joining the clergy.

Crixus scanned the parking lot to see if anyone had seen them. He didn’t notice anything and began to make his way to the office door with Nasir following closely behind. He knew he should not have fallen for the younger man’s bait. He wanted nothing more to end everything as quickly as possible in order to finally rid himself of the two. The office was refreshingly cool as they entered and Crixus couldn’t help but take a deep breath as the sweat quickly evaporated from his hot skin. The office was empty but Nasir heard the sound of a television coming from behind a door on the other side of the front counter. Crixus rang the bell that was on the counter near a handwritten sign that read, “No Cheques!” There was no answer and Crixus rang the bell again. He began to look around nervously; from the box that held the room keys, to the tattered and stained display of the local rental car company. Nasir meanwhile kept his eyes ahead as he reached into his back pocket for something.

Crixus was banging on the bell again, “Lucius!” he called out. After a while, the door behind the counter opened and a man with frizzy hair and wrinkled clothes bounded out.

“Who the hell keeps banging on the ringer?” He demanded.

“It’s me, Lucius.” Crixus said.

“Jupiter’s cock,” Lucius said in disbelief. “You’re alive.”

Crixus tried to make the question as off hand as possible. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because there was a guy looking for you last night and then when I went to your room, it was empty.” Lucius replied.

Nasir stared at the man but said nothing. Crixus didn’t look back at Nasir but merely said, “It was a misunderstanding. I’m back now and I need my tackle box.”

“Uh, that’s it?”

“That’s it.”

The old man did not move from his spot behind the counter. “What’s going on? You come back after disappearing into thin air. Now you’re back and look like shit warmed over. And you want an old tackle box you left with me without explanation.”

“Nothing’s going on.” Crixus said and then in a quieter tone, “And I wouldn’t ask any more questions. Just get the box, Lucius.”

Lucius finally noticed Nasir. He gave the young man the once over and decided he didn’t like what he saw. “Who’s the Haori*?” he spit out. Nasir began to smile and Crixus said, “Lucius, quickly!”

The man glanced at Crixus one last time before retreating back into his room. “He’s an old friend,” Crixus whispered. “He didn’t mean any harm.”

“So much so he gave my partner the key to your room last night, eh?” Nasir whispered back.

“Enough people have died-“ Crixus began.

“And more will after this is all done. You should have known that. Worry about getting that box and not trying to appeal to my humanity.”

Crixus turned to face him. “He could have called the police. You’re lucky this place isn’t crawling with cops.”

Nasir snorted, “Over you? Not bloody likely. He should have though.”

Lucius reappeared then carrying a silver tackle box. He slammed it on the counter. Crixus took it and began to walk out. “Thanks for keeping this for me, Lucius.” He muttered.

“I imagine you won’t be around to ask for any more favors after this, though. Take care of yourself, you hear?” Lucius said and glowered at Nasir.

Nasir began to grin again and approached the counter. Before Crixus could react, he reached out suddenly and grabbed Lucius’ arm. “I think I can speak for Crixus when I say that you’ve been a great friend.” Lucius snatched his arm out of Nasir’s grip and backed away.

“We can go now,” Nasir told Crixus and walked out of the office.

Crixus was dumbfounded as he followed Nasir out. He was too shocked to ask Nasir why he spared Lucius’ life. He didn’t notice Nasir slipping off a ring with a tiny spike off of his hand. If his calculations were right, the old man would be dead in half an hour’s time.

Agron was standing near the driver’s door of the car when they came out. “Took long enough.”

“The old man was being a bit difficult.” Nasir replied.

“He’s not going to be a problem is he?” Agron asked as he reached for his gun.

Nasir smiled, “No, not at all.”

*****

“Chief, Quintus Batiatus is knee deep in this and you know it.” Gannicus implored.

Oenomeus leaned back in his chair and looked wearily at his most troublesome inspector. “And if he is, homicide will find out. I’m telling you one last time Gannicus, stay out of this investigation. You have enough on your plate at the moment. For instance, what’s going on with Theokles and his drug trading out of his gym?”

Gannicus shifted in his chair. He didn’t understand why his boss had to have to most uncomfortable chairs in the entire department. “You would have to bring that up.”

“It seems to be your only investigation of note as of late.” The dark man sitting across from said sternly.

“You know why that is, we have discussed my suspicions before.”

“And it seems that’s all they are, suspicions.” Oenomeus snapped. “If I am to believe that there are members of this department deliberately stalling and interfering in an inquiry of drug trafficking and racketeering, I’m going to need more than a bad feeling in your gut.”

Gannicus sat up, “I will get the proof.”

“Then do it instead of wasting my time with promises.”

Sybil rapped on the door as she pushed it open. “Sorry Chief for interrupting.” She said.

“And I’m sure it’s not for a good reason.” Gannicus quipped.

“Of course it isn’t.” She said. “There’s been a report of a shootout of some kind at the Sinuessa Bar. There’s some bodies too.”

Oenomeus sighed deeply. “I’m sure homicide is on it.”

“There’s something that might interest you, Gannicus.” She said.

“I doubt that.” He grumbled.

She put her hand on her hip. “But there were witnesses who said they saw Theokles there.”

*****

He flicked another cigarette on the ground while he watched the policemen walk in and out of the bar. He thought that after so many months, the first drag would be exquisite but it wasn’t. He felt nothing and wave after wave of emptiness washed over him. He saw the medical examiner’s truck open and stretchers being pulled out. He knew this was the only way he could see Mira one last time.

So he stood in a piss scented alleyway watching the bodies being brought out. He thought he recognized Mira’s small frame under the sheet but he wasn’t sure. When the last body was taken out, he slipped from sight.

*****

The marina was situated so that it faced the most beautiful area of the bay. Agron couldn’t help but admire the sight. The water practically shimmered under the cloudless sky. He inhaled the fragrant salt-tinged air as he walked the pier that led to the storage bays. He walked a yard or so behind Crixus holding the tackle box with one hand and with the other near his gun. He and Nasir had split at the entrance so that the younger man could meet with Saxa who was bringing Naevia. They were going to be as careful as possible until the very last minute.

“This is it, 207.” Crixus said and pointed to a door.

Agron took a last scan around and didn’t see anyone except a man and a young boy readying to depart from one of the docks on a small fishing ship. Agron turned his head quickly before they could notice him looking. “Okay, hurry up and open it.”

*****

Nasir reclined against one the dock posts at the entrance of the marina and waited for Saxa to arrive. He figured she would be in a dour mood since she would be driving a car that wasn’t her own and dropping off a woman she didn’t know.  He shielded his eyes and scanned the parking lot and spotted what looked like Crixus’ black car several feet away. “So that’s where it was,” he mumbled. Just then, a silver BMW rolled up near him and he recognized Saxa’s blonde head behind the driver’s seat. He waved at her briefly and she parked nearby.

He gave the car a once over as she got out and helped Naevia.

“Nice car.” He said dryly.

“I figured I deserved it.” She said and smiled as Naevia was able to walk slowly on her own towards him.

“Watch your step,” Saxa told her gently. Nasir glanced at her in surprise. “Are you friends now?” he asked.

“She’s been through a lot. I know what it’s like.” She said and gave him a hard look. He had the grace to look away.

“I’ll take her from here. Stay near the entrance and keep your mobile handy. If you hear anything,” he paused but she knew he meant. “Stay here and don’t let anyone leave in that black muscle car sitting there.” He continued and pointed to Crixus’ car. “No one.”

Saxa nodded but didn’t look in Naevia’s direction.

“What are you going to do to us?” Naevia asked him.

“Not a thing if everything goes to plan and your boyfriend doesn’t get any ideas.” He told her.

“Crixus wouldn’t do anything stupid.” She told him.

He chuckled a bit, “We’ll make sure you keep him from doing so.” He took her arm with as much care as possible. “Are you okay to walk a bit?”

She hesitated before nodding. “Bye,” She said to Saxa.

“Bye,” Saxa said and ignored Nasir’s glare. She knew she had no business bonding with a mark, but some things couldn’t be helped. She knew Nasir thought she would hesitate if it came to killing the girl if things went awry. Because if that were the case, it would mean that either Agron, Nasir, or both would be dead.  But she would do it. Some things just couldn’t be helped.

*****

Crixus unlocked the enormous Abloy with relative ease. He let the lock drop the ground and slid the heavy door open. Agron took out his gun and held it at his side. “Go in.” The both walked into the storage bay. Light seeped in from under the crack between the wall and the water.

The light switch is over on the left side.” Crixus said.

“Walk over slowly and turn it on.” Agron said.

Crixus did as commanded and once Agron scanned the place for any people or threats, he pulled the door closed until a small opening was left. He took out his mobile and while he was dialing, he told Crixus “Go and get the money. I’m telling my partner to bring your lady.”

“I want to see her first.” Crixus stated.

Agron put the phone down. “Aw for fuckness sake! Are we going through this again?”

“Sorry if I’m having some trust issues after your boy tried to throttle me!” Crixus yelled.

“I heard what you said to him and had it been me, I would have done the same thing or worse.” Agron said as his eyes flashed. “I don’t expect you to understand and I don’t care. But know this, no fucker in this world will ever question our partnership and not have to answer for it. Now get on that boat and get that goddamn money.”

Crixus turned away and stomped over to his boat which was anchored in a small port on the other side of the door where the wooden floor cut away. The storage bays were used for small fishing boats and yachts that were too small to keep at the docks off the main walkway. He opened the hatch in the floor and pulled out several plastic bags. He heard the big man tell the person he was calling that they were at bay number 207. It was a strange time to even think about such a thing but for a brief second, he sensed that the man had feelings for his partner that went beyond business. He also thought now that the feelings were reciprocated. He wondered if he would have reacted the same way if someone had suggested that would kill Naevia for money. He thought that he probably would. In fact, he was sure of it.

Agron saw bag after bag lifted from the hatch and began to walk closer to the boat. He checked to see if there was an opening in the wall for the boat to pass and there was. He walked quickly over to make sure it was covered before Crixus had any ideas. His movements were not missed by Crixus. 

He sighed, “I would need the keys to the boat in order to take off and they’re still in the box. Plus, Naevia isn’t here yet.”

“But admit it, you were thinking about it.” Agron smirked.

Crixus didn’t respond and took the last bag of money out of the hatch. In all, Agron counted ten bags.

“How did manage all this?” He asked in wonderment.

“It was a bitch.” Crixus sighed.

“Please tell me that each bag holds an equal amount.” Agron asked anxiously. He was dreading the thought of having to count through stacks of bills.

“Of course. Each bag contains $200,000 dollars.”

“Sweet.” Agron smiled. He heard a light knock at the door and backed up towards it with his gun trained on Crixus.

“Now that’s probably my partner and Naevia. I need you to be real cool and not make any sudden moves. You divvy up that money and we’ll keep her until we’re square. And make sure you add that extra cut.”

Crixus grimaced and began to separate the bags. On the other side of the door, Nasir was having a similar conversation with Naevia.

“Stay calm and this should be over soon enough.” He told her.

“I just want to see him that’s all. I’m done with killing for one day.” She said grinning madly.

Nasir looked at her with unease. He wasn’t sure how much longer the girl could hold up. “Yeah, okay.”

Agron opened the door enough for Nasir and Naevia to walk through. He noticed Naevia looked worse than she had earlier that morning. There was a large bruise on her cheek where Lucretia had punched her. Her brown eyes were so wide that they nearly took up the top of her already gaunt face. She was visibly shaking as Nasir led her inside. He needed Crixus to speed up things before the woman had a complete collapse.

Once Naevia saw Crixus though, she gasped and wretched herself from Nasir’s grip. She ran to the boat and reached out to her man.

“Fuck!” Agron cried and raised his gun. He pointed it at the embracing couple.

Foolishly unaware of the danger, Crixus and Naevia hugged tightly and cried into one another’s neck and shoulders. The pain and distress of the last two days seeped away from them the tighter they clung together. The fear of never seeing another alive melted away as they kissed.

“Hey!” Agron shouted. “Hate to break up the happy reunion but we’re not quite finished here!” He raised his gun higher.

Naevia faced him and held up her hand. “Please, just let us go. Please. It was my fault, not his. He wouldn’t have done any of this had it not been for me.”

“Naevia, “Crixus said as he tried to pull her away from the line of fire.

Nasir took out his gun and handed it to Agron. “Take it.”

Agron was incredulous. “Can I ask what the fuck you’re doing now?”

Nasir didn’t look at him. Instead he focused on the couple on the boat. “One last act of trust.” He told them. “I’ll come on the boat and get our share of the money completely unarmed.” He held up his empty hands for emphasis. “If you won’t try anything, then neither will he.” He inclined his head towards Agron who looked livid.

“Sure," Crixus said and pulled Naevia behind him.

Nasir climbed into the boat and looked at the bags. “How many should I take?”

Crixus gave him a piercing look and then replied, “These five here. Then I have to finish filling the last bag up for your superiors.”

“That’s fine.” Nasir said giving Crixus his own penetrating stare. He bent down and took two bags and threw them off the boat. They both landed at Agron’s feet. He repeated the action with another couple of bags and then waited for Crixus to hand him the final bundle. “This is it,” he told the man.

Crixus began to reach for the last bundle and noticed a metal pipe laying right beside it. He kept his eyes on it as he reached for the bag and placed an additional $50,000 in bills in it.

Naevia then began to speak, “That woman told me what you did. She said you killed Ashur.”

Nasir merely nodded, never taking his eyes from Crixus.

“It was because you saw those pictures Lucretia sent. Thank you.”

Crixus looked in agony as he tore his eyes away from the pipe and handed Nasir the last bundle.

“No need.” He told her.

“Okay, at least tell me your name.”

He finally looked at her directly. “You don’t need to know that and after you had to time to recover and think, you wouldn’t want to. Just think about getting better.” He wanted to tell her much more. He wanted to let her know that she deserved better than a fuck up like Crixus. He wanted to say that it will take months or even years for her to get over what was done to her and the price for that may be the end of her love for the man. He then wanted to tell her that despite how foolish Crixus was, she had someone who was willing to give his very life for her. That type of devotion was rare and precious. He knew all about it. However, he said none of those things. Only, “It’s time for you two to go now.”

He jumped off the boat and went over to the opening in the wall near it. There was a latch the allowed the door to be raised. Crixus took the hint and untied the rope that held the boat to the dock. Agron opened the tackle box near his feet and tossed two pairs of keys inside it onto the boat. He watched as Crixus pulled up the anchor and Naevia put the money back in the hatch. Nasir pushed against the wall and it slowly raised until there was enough room for the boat to pull out. Crixus started the engine and he slowly backed the boat from the dock and maneuvered the boat into the bay. The continued to watch them until they were out of sight.

Agron blew out a huge breath. “I’m still deciding whether or not that was foolish or extremely smart.”

“He didn’t try to brain me with a metal pipe so I’ll go with…smart.” Nasir said and threw down the last bag of money he carried.

“Still…”

“I had my knife in my boot just in case. I don’t know if I would have killed her though.” Nasir looked pensive.

Agron shook his head, “Me neither. God, are mellowing out?”

“Ask me that after we see Spartacus.”

Agron grunted and pulled out his phone. “Let me call Saxa. We’re gonna need something to haul this money away in.”

Nasir peered at the six bags of money that were strewn between them. They finally had the money but Mira was dead and Spartacus was on the run. He was beginning to wonder if it had all been worth it.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gannicus begins to put some pieces together. Spartacus plans his payback as Quintus waits. Agron and Nasir bond once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has sex. Of course it would.

Evening had descended upon Sydney but there was still no break from the heat. The humidity was so stifling, it felt as if one was moving through a solid wall. The young blonde man who walked into the alley behind a grungy gym called “Capua” to grab a smoke almost regretted his decision after a wave of heat hit him full on. He cursed the high temperature, the indoor smoking ban and anything else he could think of as he exhaled. He didn’t notice another blonde man creep behind him and push him into the stone wall opposite the door. The young man’s head banged against the wall and he momentarily stunned as he tried to get his footing. He whirled his head around to see who was in the alley with him. He wanted to see the face of the man he planned to stomp into oblivion. What he didn’t count on was a police issued 9mm being stuck in his face.

“What the fuck is this? Who in the bloody fuck are you?” The man growled.

“Someone who needs some information,” Gannicus replied and stepped back a bit so that the young man could stand.

“Well I don’t fucking have any. So you need get out of here!” The man spat out.

“Or what, you’ll give my gun another dirty look?” Gannicus laughed. “Where’s your boss?

“Who?”

Gannicus rolled his eyes. “It’s too hot and too late to play this fucking game. Where is Theokles?”

“Don’t know who you’re talking about, cunt.” The other man said stoically.

Gannicus nodded and then kneed the man in the midsection. As he bent over gasping, Gannicus grabbed him by the collar and jerked him back up against the wall. “Let’s try this again. I’ll ask a question and you’ll answer it. Or, I’ll put my foot so deep in your arse, you’ll be sharting leather for a month.”

“You can’t do this! You just can’t grab a bloke off the street and toss him around!” the man argued.

“Sure I can. I just did. That’s one of the perks of being a cop. I get to fuck with grungy bastards like you who peddle drugs.” Gannicus sneered.

After hearing, “cop” the man’s eyes widened. “I told you all earlier, I haven’t seen anything or anyone. I’ve been working at the gym all fucking day.”

“Well, you didn’t tell _me_ that.” Gannicus countered. “Besides, I don’t believe you anyway. You’re one of Theokles’ runners. You’ve got to know where he's gone to. After that brouhaha at the Sinuessa Bar he’s got to lay low, right?”

The young man said nothing. He merely curled his mouth in disgust and crossed his arms.

Gannicus sighed and kneed the man again. “I really don’t have all night and I’m sure you want to get back into the cool comfort of your rank and rundown drug front. Just give me a hint, anything off the top of your head.”

“Go…fuck…yourself.” The man breathed out heavily.

Gannicus grabbed the man’s hair and slammed his head hard against the stone wall.  He then pressed the muzzle of the gun against his nostril. “Wrong answer,” he muttered, pressing the gun harder. The man whined. “Now I could have done this the long way and taken you in since I have hours of video of you selling meth and steroids to my undercovers.” The man began to struggle but Gannicus held fast. “But I don’t have the time and I don't want your sorry arse. I want Theokles. Rumor has it he was in that bar when those four people got shot up. I want to know which rock he’s hiding under.” He pressed even harder.

“The Vi...lla!” The man grunted.

“The what?”

“Villa!”

Gannicus took the gun away momentarily. “Batiatus’ strip joint?”  He demanded and the man briefly nodded. “Now that’s the least surprising news I’ve heard today. Of course those two would know one another.” He released the man and watched as the poor guy rubbed his nose in obvious pain. “Thank you, you’ve actually been helpful.”

The man spluttered with fury, “Fuck you! I’ll see you kicked off the force for this! This is fucking harassment! Goddamn police brutality!”

Gannicus said, “Feel free to walk right into your nearest cop station and declare who you are and what you do. In the meantime, tell Theokles that I’m looking for him.” He walked away as the man continued to yell. He began to put the events of the day together as he headed towards his car and was starting not to like how things were starting to fit. He took out his phone and called Sybil.

When she answered she sounded less than enthused. “What is it Gannicus?  I only have ten minutes left on my shift.”

“Then that’s plenty of time to do one little thing for me: tell me the names of the victims of the Sinuessa shooting.”

There was a pause. “The same shooting that homicide is covering? The very same shooting that our captain told you to stay away from?”

“Yes that very one. I got some information that Theokles and Batiatus may know each other. I have a hunch that Lucretia Batiatus’ killing and those shootings may be related.”

“You and your hunches, Gan,” Sybil sighed.

“I know, they annoy me too sometimes but they are rarely wrong. So, can I get the names?”

“I’ll check around. Give me a few and I’ll call you back.”

“And some backgrounds if they have police records…?”

Sybil gasped, “I should have known it wouldn’t be just one little thing!”

“Call me back when you get some info, thanks!” he quickly hung up before she could give him a good telling off.

*****

The marijuana Tychos had gotten for him earlier couldn’t take away the memory of seeing Lucretia lying on a slab. The scotch melting the ice cubes in his glass couldn’t dull the anger and grief over her death. As much as she had infuriated him with behavior, irritated him with overall bitterness and stung him with her affair with Crixus, he had loved her more than any woman. He didn’t believe Spartacus for a second when he said that she planned to have him killed. She had needed him too much. Why else would she have stuck around after all the women, the drugs and the arrests? She had known what he had known as well; they belonged together. Now she was gone and people needed to answer for it.

He sunk further into his office chair until only his nose and forehead could be seen. How in the hell did his whole world turn to shit in less than three days? All of the money was gone, his wife was dead, and now the police were watching him more closely than ever. He didn’t know which person who wanted to kill the most, Spartacus or Gannicus. He shut his eyes and imagined he could hear Lucretia yelling at the top of her lungs; chastising him for not listening to her about hiring Spartacus and his team. If only he had listened.

“Fuck everything,” he muttered while rubbing his tired eyes.

There was a light knock on the door and he shouted, “Who is it?”

“It’s Actus, Mr. Batiatus,” was the muffled response.

Quintus screwed up his face and said, “Come in then.”

As Actus entered the music from the main floor rushed in with him but was quickly silenced when the door closed. Quintus had spent more than enough money making sure his office was completely sound proof. He remembered how much Lucretia had complained at the cost. A small smile crept up his lips.

“Sir, you wanted a report if there was any sighting of this Spartacus person.” Actus said anxiously as he stood before Quintus in his spacious office.

“Well, have you?” Quintus asked sitting up slightly.

“No sir.”

Quintus glared at the man, “Then why in the fuck are you here?”

Actus shifted, “I just wanted to tell you that the men are still actively looking for him.”

He was incredulous, “Oh that’s fucking wonderful. I wouldn’t want my money to be wasted on a bunch of tossers who aren’t doing any fucking thing!”

Actus looked abashed but soldiered on. “We think we just missed him at his house. We could tell when we got there that he and his wife had left in a rush.”

Quintus was completely upright by then. “Why weren’t there any men staking out the house like I asked?”

Actus shrugged, “We’re a little light on manpower at the moment sir.” He said. “We still haven’t been able to find Ashur, Rhaskos or Barca.”

 He declared. “If they were with Lucretia, then they're dead too.”

Actus cleared his throat uncomfortably. “We have all the entrances secured as you requested, sir. The guards all know to know who to look for.”

“Oh well, I feel soooo much better now,” he groused.  He waved his hand impatiently. “Go on, leave. Don’t come back until something major happens. All these little bullshit updates are just upsetting me.”

Actus opened the door to leave and bumped head long into Theokles. Actus was not a small man by any stretch, but he was dwarfed by the extremely tall albino man that stood in the threshold. As much deference Actus had displayed towards Quintus, he showed none for the giant standing in his way. “You’re in my way,” he snarled.

“Then try to move me,” Theokles snarled back.

Quintus shouted, “Oh will you stop drooling and blibbering at one another! Actus, go! Theokles, enter!” There was a ten second standoff at the doorway before Actus finally stepped aside and allowed Theokles to enter.  “Had your fill of drinking all my whiskey and fucking all of my girls?” He asked the man.

Theokles merely smiled. He didn’t know if Quintus was being serious or not but he replied, “Can’t think of a better place to lay low than here. Not to worry, mate. I’ll be out of your rapidly receding hair by tomorrow. Some people are working on my alibi and some people are working on these so called witnesses. By the end of the week, Sinuessa will be yet another unsolved crime the Sydney police can’t solve-even with that blonde bastard Gannicus snooping around.”

Quintus bared his teeth at the mention of the cop’s name. “What I don’t fucking need right now, is _that_   flea buzzing around my ball sack. As soon as I take care of Spartacus…” He didn’t finish his statement. He just slapped his hand against the marble top of his desk.

“Speaking of him, do you think it’s a good idea to just sit here in the club and wait for him to do something?” Theokles asked him.

Quintus sipped the last bit of scotch left in his glass and swallowed. “He owes me money and I’m curious to see if his move is going to be as big as my move was.”

“You don’t look to me like a man who’s ready to die, Quintus.”

“That’s because I’m not.”

*****

The front door was nearly blocked because of the large bags of luggage pushed in front of it. Nasir did a last scan of the nearly bare front room before joining Agron in the bedroom. His partner was seated on the bed frantically typing away at his laptop.

“Our accounts at the Cooks Island National Bank have been updated. Thanks to Marcus, our money will arrive in less than two days.” He said not looking up.

“Nemetes and Donar have been paid and the transfer of the shop to Saxa is done.” Nasir reported as he leaned against the doorframe. “It’s actually happening. We’re getting out of this fucking place.”

Agron stopped typing. “Spartacus and whatever he has planned might change things.” He was smirking.

Nasir was deadly serious though. “Not necessarily. We should leave the same way we come, alive and standing. Both of us.”

“Are you sure about that?” Agron asked.

Nasir nodded, “With everything in me.”

Agron shut the lid to the laptop, “Nasir, you know Spartacus is going to ask us to help him fight Batiatus.”

“I know,” Nasir replied. “No matter how we spin it, we’re partly responsible for Mira’s death. He probably feels like we owe him and we do.”

“We’ll probably be outmanned and outgunned.”

“As usual…”

“Quintus is as unpredictable as his wife.”

“I have no doubt.”

“We can’t just walk away, not after everything that’s happened.” Agron said with a mournful look.

"No, we can’t. This is personal. Mira was one of us.” Nasir had always liked Mira. Her death had hit him surprisingly hard.

“So be it,” Agron said. “I’m not as optimistic as you are.”

Nasir trudged into the room and stood at the side of the huge bed. “A lot of people are going to die tonight. We just have to do whatever we can to not be included in that number. I guess that’s always been the difference between us. You see death as inevitable; I see it only as one of several options.”

“I’ve always chalked that attitude up to your youth and arrogance.” Agron cracked.

Nasir sighed, “Yes I’m a young, egotistical bastard who’s still very much alive.” He placed his palm at the center of Agron’s chest and pushed. Agron fell back against the pillows at the head of the bed and sprawled his arms and legs out. Nasir plucked the laptop from between his thighs and tossed it onto the nightstand. He climbed onto the bed and straddled Agron’s hips. He grabbed a tuft of his hair and pulled his head up to meet his lips. They kissed deeply, their tongues dancing and swirling. They paused to catch their breath, with each man looking into the other’s eyes. Agrons’s face was gently caressed by his lover’s as he waited for instruction. He wanted so badly to feel Nasir’s searing flesh beneath his fingertips, but he waited. Nasir was happy to make him do so.

His lips gently brushed Agron’s forehead, cheeks and chin. He then went back to Agron’s mouth and nipped and sucked his bottom lip. He reached down and grabbed the bottom of Agrons’s shirt and began to pull it up over his stomach and chest. He let it momentarily cover his face as he bit and sucked his lover’s nipples. Agron squirmed and Nasir grinned. The shirt was pulled off and pants soon followed. Agron felt his cock enveloped in wet heat and arched his back in pleasure. Nasir teased and tickled though; never allowing him to develop a proper rhythm. At one point he pulled the head of the shaft from his mouth and tapped Agron’s cock piercing against his teeth. The result was so jarring; Agron nearly brought his own knees to his chest. Nasir hopped off the bed and began to undress as Agron watched, hard and leaking. He wanted every single inch of the man in front of him.  His eyes followed Nasir’s naked form as he went to the drawer in the nightstand and pulled out his favorite objects of pleasure.  When he clambered back onto Agron’s massive thighs with full hands he told him, “You can touch me now”.

Agron’s hands seemed to be everywhere at once: hair, chest, abs, cock and ass. Nasir let him have a bit of fun, but then growled at him. “Put your cock ring on.”

Agron slipped the black leather ring over his swollen member (not without some difficulty, just as Nasir had anticipated). His dick jutted out from the nest of hair; bright red and dripping cum. He wanted to fuck so badly but Nasir was agonizingly slow as he prepared himself to be taken. He tried to sneak a touch, but Nasir hit his hand with a small rod with a flattened tip at the end. “No touching until I say you can.”  He said. Agron groaned in frustration, but Nasir covered his mouth with his fingers as he slipped Agron’s cock inside him. As he slowly lowered himself, he couldn’t prevent the deep moan that escaped his own lips.

They began to move and Nasir with the rod, reached behind him and gently swatted Agron’s testicles with the flattened end. The flash of pain as he thrust into Nasir was exquisite. Nasir hit him again, and he shouted lustily. He was overcome with all kinds of sensations; Nasir was the only man ever to elicit so much from him. He was beginning to lose control and he was allowed to. Nasir increased the frequency of the hits as Agron slammed harder and harder into him. As his own climax approached, Nasir tossed the rod aside and grabbed his own cock. He stroked himself to completion, and fell forward against Agron’s chest. Meanwhile Agron slipped himself out of Nasir and took the cock ring off. When he did, he jacked off furiously as Nasir bit into his nipple. The following orgasm was explosive as his stiffened and shuddered at the impact. Afterwards, he could barely breathe. He closed his eyes and waited for the pounding in his ears to subside. When he opened them again, Nasir was sitting on his thighs again staring into his face intently.

Agron looked puzzled, “What’s the matter?”

“I’m just trying to memorize every inch of you. I want to remember every scar, scratch and mole.” Nasir said absently as he traced his finger down Agron’s neck. He allowed Agron to undo his ponytail and spread his loose hair on his back.

“That sounds so loving and gentle.” Agron snickered.

Nasir scrunched up his face. “Is it so hard for you to believe that I am capable of loving someone, even you?” He asked.

“Oh absolutely,” Agron said. “But I’m glad you do.”

Nasir scowled even more but then broke into a laugh. Agron cut off the laugh with a tender kiss. “I feel the same.”

*****

Gannicus had barely moved from his chair since he had arrived back to at station. He was squinting at the huge computer monitor at his desk, scanning picture after picture from the database. From what Sybil told him, there were four casualties in the bar shooting, two men and two women. The first woman, a young brunette by the name of Kore had just moved to Sydney six months prior. The bar gig was her only job on record and she had not received so much as a traffic ticket. The two men on the other hand, both had extensive criminal records that ranged from assault, to theft, to possession. It took him a while to make the connection, but he finally discovered that both men were associates of Theokles. They were fingered by an informant after arranging a deal to buy a large quantity of meth. They were almost caught until they were tipped off by someone Gannicus suspected was from the force. A wave of anger rippled through him as he remembered having to call off the raid, pack up and return to the station empty handed. Setbacks such as those would have deterred a weaker man, but they made Gannicus even more determined hang degenerates like Theokles and Batiatus by the balls.

What he needed to know now was why the men in the bar were trying to kill the two women? He guessed that the key lay in finding out who the other woman was or more specifically who she worked for. Mira was the name on the driver’s license they found on her. However, they could find no other identifying information previous to 2010. It could only mean that Mira was an alias. The scuttlebutt around homicide was that witnesses reported the bar being emptied out shortly before the shoot out. And during a search of the place, cops found a Glock with a nearly empty clip near Mira’s hand.  It all added up to a professional hit to Gannicus. He just needed to know who this Mira really was. He sighed deeply and looked through picture after picture. He had set up a search to find females between the ages of 25-35 with dark hair and brown eyes. He had no idea there so many brunettes in Sydney. So far he was having no luck.

Oenomaus was just about to close his office when he spotted Gannicus at his desk looking as if he were actually working. He went over to the cubicle where he was sitting and leaned over the wall. The vice cop hadn’t even noticed his boss’ approach.

“Keep this up and people will think you care about your job.” Oenomaus quipped.

Gannicus jumped slightly and looked up. “I do care about my job, the legal, not on the take, not kissing arse part of the job at least.”

“Care to expound?” The lean, dark skinned man inquired.

Gannicus paused. “No, you’ll just yell at me.”

Oenomaus curled his lip and snorted. “Well if you don’t I’ll force you to take a leave of absence.”

With a massive eye roll, Gannicus leaned back in chair and ran his hands through his newly shorn blonde hair. “I’m trying to find a connection between Theokles and that bar shooting this afternoon.”

Oenomaus said with gritted teeth, “Goddammit Gannicus.”

Before his boss could start to fully spazz out, he continued. “I already found out that the two men killed were associates of his. Sybil already said that Theokles was spotted near the bar at the time of the shooting. The place looked like Ned Kelly had target practice.”

Oenomaus was about to retort but Gannicus pressed on. “One of the dead women used an alias. Plus she was armed. How much would you wager the bullets from her gun are going to be dug out of Theokles’ guys?” Before the other man could answer, he said this: “I know you are going to tell me to let this go and allow homicide to what they need to do but I’m sure they haven’t found out that Theokles is hiding out in Batiatus’ club.”

Oenomaus looked startled. “How did you find that out?”

“I have my sources.” Gannicus replied vaguely.

Oenomaus was seething. “I honestly don’t know what else to do with you other than snatch your badge and gun and kick you out the door.”

Gannicus yelled, “For what? Trying to solve a case?”

“A case that doesn’t belong to you.”

“Boss,” Gannicus said as he stood up. “A case that I believe is related to Lucretia Batiatus’ murder this morning.”

Oenomaus looked away, “Yet another case you don’t have SHIT to do with.”

Gannicus nearly stamped his foot in frustration. “This goes all the way back to Quintus and Lucretia getting busted for running whores from their club earlier this year. We had a ton of evidence and then the case suddenly gets dropped? Next, Quintus gets in the fight business and wins a huge purse off the shadiest match anyone has ever seen. But not three days later his wife is found dead in her car. And instead of mourning somewhere, he’s playing host to a guy suspected of being a part of a shoot out where four people are killed?”

“What’s your point, Gannicus?”

“This all fits! Sybil told me after I brought Quintus in that people saw a man and a woman running away from Lucretia’s car after she was shot. It’s very possible that the woman who was in that bar; a woman who seemingly didn’t exist until 2010 is the same woman who may or may not have killed Lucretia. I believe that Quintus had Theokles and his men go that bar and take her out because she was the intended target.”

“And you’re basing this on what evidence?”

Gannicus shut his eyes. “I’m trying to get the evidence right now.”

Oenomaus stood rigidly with his arms crossed. “It doesn’t look that way to me. It looks like you are wasting department resources chasing gut feelings.”

“They are more than feelings! If I can just find out who this woman really is-“

Oenomaus waved his hand. “Enough. Shut the computer off, pack your shit and go home. Tomorrow morning, I want a full brief on the surveillance conducted at Theokles’ gym and nothing more.”

Gannicus was stunned. “Did you not hear anything I just said?”

“I heard everything.” Oenomaus said. “Now hear me. If you disobey my orders I will have you brought up on charges of interference, insubordination and any other bullshit I can think of.”

“Oenomaus!” Gannicus gasped.

“Try me if you want to. Leave. NOW.” And with that final warning, Oenomaus turned heel and stalked away.

Gannicus flung himself back down into his chair and sulked. He honestly thought that he had laid the evidence out clearly, only to be shot down once again. He tapped his fingers against the arm of his desk chair. He wasn’t ready to admit defeat. He wanted to do one more thing before he was to dismiss everything. He turned off his computer and started to gather his things.

*****

Spartacus recognized the blonde haired man immediately as he exited his car and walked towards the strip club entrance. He was the same guy he had talked to earlier that evening. It was half an hour before the “Villa” was to close and Spartacus watched as the man pulled out a few bills to the bouncer and was waved in without being checked.

“Excellent,” he whispered quietly from his spot behind a huge truck in the darkest part of the parking lot. The neon glow of the sign that hung from the entrance only licked the edges of the dark circle he inhabited. He didn’t need much light anyway. He had already loaded his weapons and had everything else he needed. For now, he was just waiting for the moment his plan would spring into action. With the arrival of the blonde man, it looked as if it was beginning.

He shifted to a more comfortable position and leaned against the bumper of a huge truck. He took out his last burner phone and texted Agron.

**“I’ll be at the south end of the parking lot behind the Mazda truck. Meet me there.”**

He put the phone away and lit another cigarette. “Let the games begin.” He said.

*****

Varro never liked going to Quintus' strip club. He thought it looked run down and cheap with its fake marble floors and gaudy gold furnishings. The interior was supposed to resemble an ancient Roman villa but it looked and smelled more like a bathhouse. He grabbed a spot at the bar and ordered a beer. As he sipped the overpriced drink, he scanned the area looking for Quintus. On rare occasions, when Quintus was drunk or high he would perch himself into one of his own VIP booths and catcall the girls on stage. On this particular night, he was not to be seen. He sipped again and plotted his course of action. He had not intended to show up at the club, but after the visit from the mysterious man detailing Quintus’ plan to leave the country with a whole bunch of money, he knew he needed to act.

He began to chastise himself for the millionth time for ever trusting Quintus. He had nothing to show for it. His reputation in the ring was in tatters, he was still injured and he still hadn’t received any money. According to the guy who tracked him down, it looked as if Quintus had no intention of giving him any. He gently adjusted the gun in his pocket as he gestured to the bartender. He and Quintus were going to have a sit down and get some matters clarified. No one was leaving the Villa until he got his money.

*****

It was a few minutes to 2 A.M. when Agron and Nasir drove into the nearly empty parking lot. They spotted the big black truck in the corner and parked near it. As Nasir shut off the engine, Agron pulled out his gun and waited. He saw a dark figure stirring near the rear tire and was ready to aim. Just then the figure stood and flicked a tiny stream of light under his chin from a mini flashlight. It was Spartacus.

Agron and Nasir carefully exited the car and joined him, but their hands never left their weapons.

“Evening, mates.” Spartacus drawled. “Glad to see you came prepared.” He pointed at their guns with his own. “Hope you brought extra clips.”

“We brought enough.” Agron said darkly.

He nodded and said, “First things first though. You can put the money in the back of this truck.”

Agron and Nasir exchanged a look before Nasir went back to their car and opened the trunk. He pulled out a duffle bag and slung it over his shoulder before closing it again. Spartacus pointed to the truck as if Nasir had suddenly forgotten where he was. As cautiously as he could, he dropped the bag into the bin of the truck and slid it further inside. He noticed that a large metal lock box was already in the back. He did not say anything and he carefully backed away to stand beside Agron.

“Exactly what are you planning to do?” Agron asked.

“I’m going to give Quintus what’s due him.” Spartacus replied.

Nasir peered around the very dark parking lot. “Are you alone?”

Spartacus smiled at him, “Not anymore.”

Agron rubbed his chin. “Far be it for me to question your preparedness Spartacus. But I’m not quite sure how the three of us with a limited amount of weapons have much of an advantage.”

“Uh, Four actually.”

“What?”

“There are four of us.”

Nasir was completely confused. “Who’s the fourth person? When the fuck are they going to decide to show up?”

“All part of the plan.  It’s true we may have a limited amount of weapons. It’s also true we don’t quite know how many people are in that club waiting to try to kill us. What I do know is that Quintus Batiatus will not expect what I have to give him and he will not live to see the sun come up.” Spartacus answered as if he had made all the sense in the world.

Agron and Nasir were speechless. They had never seen the big man like this. Usually when they went on jobs together, it was all business. Spartacus would have diagrams and blueprints and had a breakdown of how much time each and every action took.  But looking at him now, with nothing but a little gun and a big box, they were worried. Walking into a death trap was not on their list of, 'last things to do before leaving Sydney'.

Agron tried again. “Do you think we could discuss tactics?”

Spartacus shrugged. “For this, all I need for you two to do is point and shoot.”

Nasir threw up his hands. “This is madness. This is-“

Agron touched his shoulder. “Okay, we’ll enter our way.” He turned his attention back to Spartacus. “We’ll enter the front together. Nasir will come in from the back.”

Spartacus seemed unconcerned. “Sure, if that works.”

“It does for us.” Agron stressed.

“What are we waiting for then?” Nasir asked checking his weapons and re-strapping his Kevlar vest that was under his hoodie. It was hotter than a bitch’s tit outside but there was no way he was going inside the building without protection.

“Wait just a minute; we’ll either hear a yell or a gunshot or both.” Spartacus responded.

As Agron and Nasir exchanged yet another look, Spartacus’ prediction came to pass. There was a yell and then a gunshot.

“That’s our cue.” He said grinning. “Nasir, you might want to get to the back door. It’s through the alley on the left. Agron, help me carry that box inside.”

“Spartacus, what the fuck is going on?”

“Number four has just announced his presence.”

 


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron and Nasir meet up with Spartacus and a final showdown at the Villa commences. Outnumbered and outgunned, will any of them survive?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad that I neglected this story for so long. I am really proud of it and felt it was owed an ending. I'm not sure if I'm ever going to dip my toes into the BDSM world anytime soon, but the boys made it interesting.

“Agron, help me carry this box inside.” Spartacus said pointing to the big metal box in the bin of his truck.

“What’s in this thing?” Agron didn’t know whether or not Spartacus had stopped by his bomb maker’s flat and picked it up.

Spartacus opened the truck bin and pulled the box closer to him. “It’s Quintus’ payment.”

Agron eyed the box warily, “Oh really? I wonder what will happen to us when he opens it.”

Spartacus grunted as he pushed the box to the ground. “He’ll be surprised no doubt. C’mon, hurry and grab the other side.”

Agron grabbed a handle and nearly fell over. “Holy shit!”

“C’mon!” Spartacus shouted and grabbed the other handle. They tried to run as they carried the incredibly heavy box between them. Agron had the feeling they would be the easiest targets in creation once they walked into the door with guns down and big ass box between them. When they reached the door way, Spartacus nodded his head and they set the box down and quickly found cover. Agron poked his head around the door jamb quickly and he was very surprised at what he saw. He looked over to Spartacus who was watching as well and he seemed to be nodding in approval.

*****

As soon as he heard the gunshot, Gannicus instinctively ducked his head. He was behind the wheel of his car several meters down the street from the strip club. He heard yells and noticed that the two hulking men guarding the door had run inside. He grabbed his radio and called the station.

“Shots fired from the Villa Strip club downtown between 143 and 144. Inspector number 223 requesting back up.” He slammed the radio down and grabbed his gun. He waited to see if anyone else entered or exited the front entrance. He saw two men carrying something huge between and had a mad thought that they were planning on bombing the place. He took out his gun and cocked it. While carefully looking at the entrance of the club he climbed out of his car and hurried up the sidewalk. Once he reached the front doors, he took a quick peek in and noticed there was no one standing guard. He took another look out towards the street but didn’t see any patrol cars. He cursed silently and raged an internal debate over whether he should continue forward. He could hear Oenomaus yelling in his ear about “suspensions” and what not. He was a cop though, and he knew something really bad was about to go down at the Villa. He took a deep breath and moved forward.

While Gannicus was getting in the mix at the front of the club, Nasir was still struggling with the door of the rear entrance. He was literally pulling at the knob and cursing up a storm when he felt what seemed like a battering ram hit the other side. He backed away just in time before the door burst open and a wave of scantily clad dancers bounded out right at him. He was buffeted by bare breasts and assses and he usually wouldn’t have minded but he had a job to do. He began to push against the screaming women until he reached the door and ran in.

*****

Varro kept the muzzle of his 9mm aimed straight at Quintus’ forehead. He had not expected to begin their negotiations on such a dramatic note but after the stall tactics and the threats from the club owner’s men, he had to do something. Something was shooting a hole in the ceiling and putting his gun to Actus’ temple, promising to put a hole in his head until Quintus came out of his office. When Batiatus swaggered out sneering, he was disgusted to see Varro holding court instead of Spartacus.

“What the fuck are you doing, Varro?” He cried.

The tall man with curly blonde hair had thrown Actus aside and pointed his gun at Quintus. “I’m here to collect my payment.”

Spartacus and Agron had joined the scene by that time and were hiding behind booths nearby. Spartacus rolled over on his stomach and saw one of Quintus’ bodyguards creeping forward with his own gun aimed at Varro’s back. He crawled forward silently and grabbed the man from behind. Before he had a chance to react, Spartacus had stabbed him in the back of the neck with a knife he kept in his pocket. Agron looked on and was about to provide necessary back up when he saw a man with short blonde hair appear from the front door with a raised gun.

“What the fuck?” Agron muttered.

“I always thought you were a dumb fuck, Varro. You just proved me right with this little stunt!” Quintus bellowed.

“I don’t give damn what you think of me, Quintus. I just want what is owed to me.” Varro said.

“Put down the gun and I’ll see to it that you get it.” Quintus snarled.

Gannicus spoke up, “Why don’t you all put down your guns and put your hands in the air?”

Spartacus looked up in shock and whispered, “What the fuck?”

Quintus rolled his eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Sorry Quintus that we have to meet up again this way.” Gannicus said. “But there’s some questions I need to ask you. Oh, and you’re welcome to come along too, Theokles.” He gestured to the giant albino man. “We should do this real nice and cool. The police are on their way.”

Nasir who was hiding in the DJ booth looked incredulous, “What the fuck?”

Spartacus could not believe what he was seeing. He had no idea where the cop had come from and he was an unnecessary wrinkle in his plan. The others thought so too and all pointed their guns at him. Gannicus barely had time to duck before a barrage of shots rang out. He felt a burning sensation in his calf and knew that he had been hit. He groaned as he dragged himself behind a booth. He chastised himself repeatedly as his leg throbbed, “That was stupid Gannicus, really stupid.”

Varro had managed to take out another one of Quintus’s guard before he dived over the bar to avoid being riddled with bullets. After a few short bursts, the gunman discovered that they weren’t really shooting at anything anymore and paused. Agron, who was still out of sight mumbled, “Fucking idiots, all that firepower and no idea where to aim.” He saw Spartacus nod his head twice. It was a familiar signal: It was time to unleash hell.

They both stood up at the same time and began to fire their weapons. One by one, Quintus’ men fell dead. All except Theokles, who began to return in kind with a gun the size of a small cannon. Spartacus and Agron dodged the shots. Spartacus hid behind the body of one of Quintus’ goons and Agron found a place beside a bleeding Gannicus.

“Who the hell are you?” Agron cried.

“I’m a fucking cop.” Gannicus retorted. “You all are under arrest.”

Agron scowled, “Sure, try to bring us all in without getting pumped full of lead and bleeding out on this ratty carpet. I wish you luck.”

“You’re in business with Quintus and I’m taking him and everyone associated with him down.” Gannicus gasped. For a just a leg wound, it hurt like hell. He grimaced in pain.

Agron looked at him skeptically. “Wait your turn. We’ve got our own score to settle with that fucker.”

Theokles continued to shoot at anything he saw move until Nasir rose up silently and squeezed off two shots into his back. The giant stumbled and yelled but did not go down. He turned with the gun upraised and Nasir ducked back under the DJ’s turntable before he could get hit. Spartacus took advantage of the diversion and emptied his clip into Theokles. The last shot hit the base of the man’s skull and he tumbled over an upturned chair heavily.

Before Spartacus could replace his clip, Batiatus appeared from the shadows holding a silver semi-automatic. He had ran back inside his office during the heaviest of the gunfire and reappeared to see his men decimated and Theokles taken down. He was full of rage.

“Not so fast, Spartacus,” He snarled. “So you finally decided to show up, but you didn’t manage to kill me.”

“Our business isn’t finished yet, Quintus.” Spartacus said quietly.

Quintus cocked his gun, “Oh, I think it is.”

“Never been much of a thinker though Batiatus, have you?” Agron asked as he came out from his hiding place with his own gun raised. “Put down the fucking gun.”

Before Quintus could rain curses, Gannicus stood up unsteadily and pointed his gun at Agron. “You kill him and I’ll kill you.”

Nasir jumped up, “You wouldn’t be able to get a shot off.” He had his gun pointed right at Gannicus.

It was then Varro’s turn to reemerge pointing his gun at anyone within range. “If anyone has my money, now is the time to give it to me.”

Then there was silence. Each man held his weapon steadily, ready to fire. Spartacus decided it was time to speak.

“All right everyone. I think we need a minute to calm down.” He said slowly. “Like I said before, our business isn’t finished Quintus. I have brought your money as promised.” He pointed at the huge box still sitting inside the front entrance.

“Eat my fucking arse, Spartacus. I’m supposed to believe that?” Quintus roared.

“I always complete a job, Quintus. Don’t tell me you don’t want it. You owe quite a few people, Varro for starters.” Spartacus replied.

Varro eyed the box anxiously. “You’re goddamn right. I want my money. Go and get the box, Quintus.”

Quintus rounded on Varro. “Who the fuck do you think you are? This is my fucking club, you bastard. You don’t order me around! Fuck all of you!”

Everyone left alive in the room pointed their guns at Quintus.

“Get the box.” Agron commanded him. When Quintus hesitated, Gannicus yelled, “Hurry up. We don’t have all fucking night!”

Quintus gritted his teeth and stuck his gun into the back of his pants. He marched to the box and attempted to pick it up. “OW! Motherfuck!” He screamed clutching his back.

“Quit the dramatics and get on with it!” Varro exclaimed.

“This fucking thing weighs a ton! You try to lift it!” Quintus whined.

“For Chrissakes,” Varro muttered and hurried over to where Quintus was with the box. He still had his gun out and held the barrel up near Quintus’ chest. “Try anything and I’ll end you right here and now. Grab the other handle.”

Batiatus snorted and grasped one of the handles of the box. It was a monstrous looking thing, like something found on a long abandoned pirate ship. It was made of wood with the edges covered in tarnished brass. They both struggled to drag the box to the center of the floor. It landed with a loud thump.

“I’ll open it.” Varro said.

Quintus growled. “The fuck you will. That’s my money, I’ll open it!”

The fighter and the club owner began to push one another and struggle over the box. Spartacus stepped in to separate the two. He had Varro by the arm and was about to drag him away when the man shuddered suddenly. Spartacus looked at him and saw a small hole had appeared in the middle of his forehead. Varro collapsed over the box and Spartacus whirled around shouting, “Take cover!”

Before the others could react, Gannicus felt something hit his chest and he leaned forward. He had not heard the shot but he knew he had been hit. He tried to maintain his balance but fell backwards into a booth. Meanwhile, Spartacus, Agron, Nasir and Quintus ducked out of sight. Agron peered from his hiding place; hand firmly on the trigger of his own gun and saw the red laser sight scan over the floor and booths ready to take out a target. _A fucking sniper_ , he thought furiously. They had not planned on that. As he tried to gauge where the light was coming from, it suddenly swooped over to where he was hiding and he had to cover his head as the bullet ripped through the cheap leather that lined the booth where he hid.

Nasir saw Agron duck just in time as the shot hit near him. He fired three shots in the direction of the shot. The unknown gunman returned fire quickly and Nasir was hit in the side. Agron gritted his teeth as he saw his partner fall. He knew better not to run over to Nasir and he hoped that his vest was able to withstand the force of the bullets. He looked over at his partner once more but Nasir did not move.

There was a voice that rang out from the back of the club, “Quintus!” Both Agron and Spartacus pointed their guns at the source of the voice. “Quintus,” it said again. “If you want to walk out of here alive, go to the box and open it. “

Quintus who was hiding behind the bar called out, “Who the fuck are you?”

Spartacus was curious as well. If the obscured gunman hadn’t been hired by Batiatus, then where did he come from? Gannicus, who was trying to staunch the blood that trickled from his right chest thought he recognized the voice. “No,” he muttered. “It can’t be.”

“Go to the box and open it.” The voice commanded again. “Or I will allow the police to come. Don’t worry about these men. They’re all going to die.”

Quintus peeked over the bar counter with a confused look. The man sounded like his contact at the police department. Was he really here to save him? He stood with his hands up.

“That’s it.” The voice called out. Spartacus thought he saw a shadow move and trained his gun to follow the movement. His effort was stymied by a ringing shot near his ear. The bullet ricocheted off an upturned chair and landed in a table near where Nasir still lay. He lowered his head and his gun and knew that the gunman was professional.

Quintus slowly crept over to the box. He wasn’t quite sure why. He didn’t feel any safer in the presence of the unknown gunman. Before he attempted to open the contraption, he called out. “What are you doing here and what do you want?”

The gunman suddenly appeared. He was standing over Nasir’s prone form with a gun pointed at his head. “I’m here because the police were called. I sent the patrol cars off. So as payment for saving your ass again Quintus, you’re going to give me a share of that money.”

Batiatus was astounded, “And if I don’t?”

“No one in this club will be left alive, including you.”

Gannicus struggled to sit up. With every little bit of strength left in him, he lifted his gun at the man. “You won’t leave this place alive either, Oenomaus.”

“Is that man really a cop?” Spartacus shouted. He didn’t dare move as long as the man held his gun on Nasir.

“No, he’s just a crook with a badge.” Gannicus sputtered out. He blinked heavily, but his arm was steady.

“If you had only minded your business Gannicus, you wouldn’t be bleeding out on his horrific carpet.” Oenomaus said quietly.

Quintus growled. “The carpet isn’t horrific, you fuck! My wife picked it out.”

Oenomaus rounded on Quintus, “You’ll be bleeding on it soon if you don’t open that box!”

Quintus pulled at the handle on the front and noticed a keyhole under it. “It’s fucking locked.”

“Where’s the key?” Oenomaus demanded.

“Right here,” Spartacus said as he rose slowly. He was several meters away, directly facing the rogue cop. Quintus jerked in surprise to his right. He had the barrel of his gun pointed at Oenomaus’ head.

“Well, you have a decision to make. Watch this man die or hand the key to Quintus.” Oenomaus said.

“I don’t think you’re really in a position to dictate terms since you’ve decided to show yourself. You’re outgunned.” Spartacus said, nodding to Gannicus and Agron who had appeared from behind his booth with gun aimed high.

Oenomaus, cocked the trigger of his high powered automatic at Nasir. “So you won’t care if I blow a hole through this man’s skull?”

Agron grimaced but kept calm. He knew one false move meant that Nasir would die. He glanced at Spartacus who nodded ever so slightly. “Why should I? He’s dead anyway.”

Oenomaus smiled wryly. “The standoff continues. But let’s see what happens if I pump a few more bullets into this Maori.”

“No!” Agron yelled.

“That’s what I thought. Toss the key!” Oenomaus ground out.

Spartacus sighed, “I’m going to reach into my pocket very slowly and get the key. I want everyone to stay cool.” He let the gun in his right hand slip until the trigger hung from his index finger. With his left hand, reached inside the front pocket of his jeans. He pulled out a large silver key. He then lobbed it over Quintus’ head. As Batiatus jumped to try to catch it, Spartacus shot him. Oenomaus was frozen in shock and Gannicus took his chance. He pulled his trigger and hit him in the upper left arm. Oenomaus staggered but recovered quickly enough to squeeze off a shot that hit Gannicus in the stomach. In the meantime, Batiatus screeched in pain and brought out his own gun that was still tucked in the waistband of his slacks. He began to fire wildly at Spartacus and Agron and both dove out sight.

Oenomaus was looking around the club wildly trying to find anyone else to shoot when he felt an arm wrap around his throat. He had no time to throw it off before he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. Nasir had managed to inject him with venom. Once the syringe was empty, he loosened his hold and backed away. The tall, dark man groaned in pain and had begun to lift his weapon again, but it was shot out of his hand by Agron. Oemomaus put his hand over the puncture wound and felt a burning pain that he had never felt before.

“What…did you do to me?” He choked out.

“I just killed you, mate.” Nasir replied calmly. He spotted Agron and lifted his sweatshirt. The vest he was wearing was dotted with several holes.

Quintus tried to shoot Nasir but nothing happened. He had run out of bullets.

“FUCK!” He screamed. He dropped his gun and grabbed his upper chest. The blood had soaked through his silk shirt. Spartacus began to close in.

“Oh Quintus, today was just not your day.” He said and perched himself on top of the box. Quintus was sprawled nearby.

“Oh God,” Quintus whined. “I don’t need a speech, just kill me already.”

“Fine, I won’t give a speech. Although I was aching to tell you what a fucking waste of flesh you and your crazy wife are. I also wanted to gloat over the fact that I got revenge for Mira’s death and Sura’s escape but I’ll save it. I do want to show you what’s in the box. You earned it and you should see it.”

He took the bloody knife from his pocket and jiggled the lock for a bit. The box lid sprang open. Batiatus lifted his head to look at the contents. When he did, his head lolled back and he muttered, “You fucking shit.” The box was full of sand.

While Oenomaus’ blood was turning into sludge due to the Taipan venom administered to him, Agron picked up his discarded gun and went over to look at Gannicus. The man was still alive, but barely.

“Don’t bother trying to help. It’s too late for me.” He said in a shaking voice.

“I hadn’t planned on it.” Agron said calmly. “We weren’t going to leave witnesses.”

“Figures. At least the shit caught up with Quintus and I was there to see it.” Gannicus groaned.

Agron threw a glance over at the nearly expired Quintus. “We owed him.”

“And I got a bonus. That bastard Oenomaus is dead too.”

“If you say so.” Agron said in a bored voice. He was already thinking about everything needed to be done to cover their tracks.

“I guess telling you that you're still under arrest would be useless.”

“Pretty much. We’ll be long gone before the police arrive.”

“I guess I need to hurry up and die, then.”

“No worries, we’ll make sure you’re gone too before we depart.” With that, Agron walked away. Gannicus looked at his gun on the floor but knew he no longer had any strength left in him to pick it up.

“You wouldn’t mind telling us where we can find the security video, would you?” Agron asked Quintus casually as if he were asking the man to borrow a smoke.

“Fuck off, you wanker.” Quintus whispered fiercely.

“Thought I’d ask.” Agron responded. He lifted Oenomaus’ gun and fired. Quintus jerked as the bullets hit him. “C’mon, let’s start cleaning up.” He called out, wiping the gun down.

*****

Sura heard the soft knock at the front door of the apartment and hesitated. It had been three days since she had last saw her husband. She wanted desperately for the person knocking on the door to be him.

“Who is it?” She demanded. She pulled out the small revolver she had hidden in the pocket of her bathrobe.

“It’s me,” said the voice from the other side.

“Spartacus?” She asked tremulously.

“Yeah.”

She sniffed and lay a hand on the door. “What did I give you the first time you had to leave?”

There was a pause. “A purple ribbon.”

She gasped and unlocked the door. There he stood. His beard had grown out and his hair was messy, but it was him.

“May I come in?” He asked.

She nodded through her tears. She didn’t know if she was going to stay with him. She didn’t know if she was ever going to return to the house he bought for her. But at that moment, she did know that she wanted to hold him in her arms.

He walked into her embrace.

*****

The waves lapped against the sand of the shore and tickled her feet. She smiled and drew them back. It was shortly after dawn and she had crept out of the cottage while Crixus still slept to take a walk along the beach. She still marveled at how clear the water in Tahiti was. Crystal blue and shimmering, she could spot schools of fish gliding through its waves. She took a deep breath in relief. The night before had been the first time she had not been awakened by nightmares. For the first time in what felt like forever, she thought that she was going to get through everything. She smiled again as sea birds flew over her.

*****

*****

He waved away the cook after she placed the dishes on the table for dinner. He didn’t want to start eating before Agron arrived. His lover had taken off earlier in the day and had not come back. They had just settled into their villa and he wondered if Agron had gotten lost. Buenos Aires was an enormous city. He then berated himself for fretting like a worried old lady. Agron was a trained professional and was more than capable of taking care of himself. Yet, he knew that he and Agron barely escaped death due to a little bit of luck on their part and a lot of stupidity on the part of others. He did not want to be in a situation like that ever again.

He finally gave into his hunger and dug into a large steak. Argentinean beef was the best he had ever tasted. He was savoring a forkful when he heard the front door open. Agron appeared on the balcony where Nasir was sitting, carrying a package.

“Been on a bit of a shopping spree?” He asked and took a swig of a deep red Argentinean wine.

“Indeed,” Agron confirmed. “I got a few new things. I hope they please you. I’m especially excited with this purchase.”

Nasir put down his glass. “Let’s see it then.”

Agron handed over the package and Nasir opened it. Inside the white box was a silver anal anchor. He quirked his eyebrow. “I’m intrigued.”

Agron rubbed his chin and smiled. He knew that night was going to be epic. He watched Nasir put down the box and indicate that he should sit down. Once he did, his lover took his hand. “Thanks for thinking of me. When I think about how things could have gone…”

“Don’t tell me you were afraid.”

Nasir leaned back and peered at him. “I admit, a little bit of piss trickled out when I was under that cop’s gun.”

Agron eyes widened. He had never heard Nasir make such an admission. “This is different. I’m usually the maudlin one.”

Nasir shrugged, “I didn’t want to die and the thought of never seeing you again kind of shook me.”

Agron blinked. “You’re saying…”

“I’m saying that I love you.”

Agron was momentarily stunned. “I need to bring anal anchors more often.”

Nasir laughed. “Hey, why not say what I feel? We’re here in South America. We’re filthy rich and free from all that bullshit in Australia.”

Agron squeezed his hand. “I love you too. It’s been a fucking wild trip, though. I’m glad you've been there with me.”

Nasir picked up the box and handed it to Agron. “Show me how glad you are.”

“With pleasure.”


End file.
